Some Things Are Best Kept Secret
by FindMeInTheDark
Summary: Imagine leaving the love of your life in the forest near her home - unknowingly pregnant, not a mere mortal, and her Guardian was your twin sister. New Moon - Starts days after he leaves...ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
1. Prologue of Views

Disclaimer: I Don't Own 'Twilight' - credit goes to Stephenie Meyer...

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**Some Things Are Best Kept Secret**

Prologue – Multiple Points of View

**Sara**

Sometimes, things go according to plan, have a happy ending, or just plain make everyone happy. Other times, not so much. I've been around for over six centuries, enduring different eras of the modern world along with my family. I have witnessed almost everything; you name it, I've probably seen it.

For example, take what my brother did to Bella. He left her, unknowingly pregnant, in the forest outside her home, claiming that he was never in love with her. I had almost gone and hunted him down like a mongrel and beat the crap out of him. If Bell hadn't pleaded with me not to go, I would have gone and done it, regretting it almost instantly.

Right now I never expected myself to be standing _here, _in front of my brother, my twin, after all these years. I fear that he will run before anything vital happens and everything goes spiraling down the drain after all of this planning. If he runs, visions and prophecies will have to be re-looked at and changed.

The best we can do now is hope that everything doesn't go to hell…

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**Bella**

Never in my thirty-one years did I imagine that I would be ever doing this. It was all purely instinct. He was a vampire, I was an immortal human, and we loved each other with a passion that was indescribable, too intimate. I never saw myself almost killing the love of my life and the father of our daughter.

I still don't know if I will ever be able to forgive him for what he did thirteen years ago. He said he didn't love me and left me standing in the forest near my home. I had stupidly tried to follow him when I knew that the scent was long gone.

My hand lightly brush his throat as I whip around, blowing my scent around us at the same time. I cringed away from him as if I had been burned. Looking up into his golden honey eyes, I saw disbelief and longing and…something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Unconsciously, my hand went up to lightly brush his untidy bronze hair out of his eyes. "Bella," he whispered. He then reached his hand up to caress my face, but before he could make contact with my skin, I launched myself into the forest running at full speed.

I became the wind out of fear, and as I did so, I didn't look back…

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**Edward**

Thirteen years ago, days after her eighteenth birthday, I left the only love of my life in the forest near her home. I thought that by leaving her, she would have a normal human life, without any interference by me…Then four, almost five, years later; my sister had a vision of my love and her younger brother in caskets - dead. At first I was so upset - still am – that all I saw was Bella in the coffin the entire vision. Once I was calm enough to look at the vision again, I saw a beautiful little girl who was the perfect blend of Bella and me.

She looked to be three or four years old and had my hair and Bella's eyes. Her expression was forlorn as she gazed at the lifeless bodies of Mark and Bella; it looked too intelligent, knowing, on the child's face. The woman who was holding the child had a spew of remorse-filled words coming from her mouth. That wasn't what kept me from noticing her; it was the strange shade of hair that was identical to both mine and the girl's. I swear the woman could have been my female twin.

I look on in alarm as cloaked figures enter our home, Aro at the head of the group…with human icy blue eyes. Two dark hooded figures flank him on both sides as the others went filing in behind. The closer they got I realized that they each had a beating heart. One in particular caught my eye; the figure was wearing a blood red cloak, holding another one in a dark blue cloak, heads covered. The one in the red cloak asked Carlisle something and he nodded in response. As the figure moved, I realized it was a woman, and, most shocking of all, she has the same strawberry and freesia scent as my love, my Bella.

The agony ripped through me uncontrollably on the inside...on the outside a dark black hooded figure looked on curiously at my frozen state…


	2. Understanding the Past

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Anything...Stephenie Meyer does...Everything but the plot and my own characters.**

Some Things Are Best Kept Secret

**Alice POV – September 28, 2005**

This day started like any other...Without Bella and her younger brother, Mark that is...

I was skipping, without any real enthusiasm, down the hall of the third floor of the new house (here in Denver Colorado), away from the storage room kept up here next to _Edward's _room. While I was in there, I had a vision of him going off to track and kill Victoria. I don't really care if he leaves at all. All I _really _care about is that he comes back with a full memory of who we are. And doesn't actually kill Vicky seeing as she's our cousin.

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It was quite a few years ago. The date was June 12, 1901 - it was Sara (his twin sister, our sister) and Edward's 500th birthday. A lot had happened that day. I remember Edward looking at Sara kissing her husband, Adain, with a thoughtful expression after they had blown the candles out together on the elegant chocolate, butter cream icing cake that Grandma Ginny (you know...Ginny Weasly) made for them. The next thing you know, Edward shot up from the table angrily and was upstairs in his bedroom in the same second, door slamming. Everything was silent in the dining room except for the shallow breathing and the frantic heartbeats that came from all of us.

Every now and then Grandma Ginny and Grandpa Harry (you know…_The Chosen One_…Harry Potter) would keep shooting me, Sara, and Ben (our other brother) questioning looks, as if asking _'what's wrong with your brother, children?' _And in response we would just shrug our shoulders muttering a quiet _'I don't know'. _About half an hour later Edward came bounding down the stairs - wand in hand, suitcases following closely behind in midair. He walked straight up to his twin and pulled her out of her chair and out of the room. Sara didn't seem too surprised at his aggressiveness and the scowl plastered onto his seventeen-year-old face (she might have seen it in a vision or heard it in his head). But the rest of us had hissed and growled at him while she waved us off.

"I can't take it anymore, Sara," he had hissed angrily to her while the rest of us quietly snuck into the sitting room. Jasper had pulled me up against him and leaned against the wall by the doorway, not interfering with their emotions. "I can't take being around three perfectly matched couples anymore. Look at you and Adain, sis. You two already have Christine and Samantha." He pointed over at the two girls standing next to Adain behind them as he said this. Then he pointed over at Ben and his wife, Abby (she's Adain's younger sister), and their son Seth sitting between them. "Benjamin and Abigail, too, are married and have a son."

He had let out an exasperated sigh and ran a hand through his already messy bronze hair identical to his twin's, before casting his gaze over to me and Jazz. "Then there's these two," he continued, two pairs of identical emerald eyes looking over at us.

Sara had furrowed her brow in confusion before speaking. "What do you mean, Edward?" she asked him, switching her gaze from us to her twin.

Edward looked down at her, searching for something that no one but the two know still to this day. Then he spoke with some new raw emotion in his voice that I didn't understand – as if he was afraid. "These two just got married a few years ago and they're already ready to have their first child." He looked down to the floor, then, taking Sara's hands and playing with them like I used to see them do when I was a little girl. "I…I want…" Edward trailed off, as if trying to find the right words.

Sara pulled one of her hands away from his grip and placed it against his cheek and whispered lovingly, "What is it that you want, Edward? Just tell me and I'll try to help you…" she trailed off and it seemed that they were continuing to speak in their minds. Suddenly she smiled and put her hands on the tops of Edward's shoulders. They still hadn't said anything aloud for the past ten minutes, and it was starting to get annoying. I looked curiously at the duo when a sudden change in the atmosphere around them happened. It was like everything became dark and brooding again at the snap of our fingers.

Edward's terrible scowl was back in place as he pulled away from his twin and shoved past us all. We all froze at the sound of him slamming the door shut behind him, hard. When we could no longer hear my brother anymore, everyone turned to look at Sara. For the first time since Ed had come downstairs, there was a deep frown upon her face that made her look older than her physical age suggested. It made me want to smooth the lines on her forehead away, and that was just what I did...

*~CULLEN~*

No one quiet understood what had happened, but no one questioned it. No matter how many times any of us wanted to ask what had exactly happened that day, we never did. That day was the last day any of us had seen or heard from Edward Lillian Cullen…

That is until seventeen years later that is. September 28th, today coincidentally, we had finally found him. It was 1918, Chicago, Illinois during the great Spanish Influenza epidemic. None of us quite know how Edward got that sick, but he did.

For weeks, me, Ben, and Sara would get up at the crack of dawn, get ready, and leave for the hospital. Every day Sara would sit by his side and cry. She would tell him how stupid she was for letting him leave us so easily in Italian. I remember the nurses and doctors telling us we had to leave in fear of us getting infected with the influenza. But every day that we stayed, they would decrease the number of times to tell us to leave. All except for one that is…One Dr. Carlisle Patel kept asking for us to leave the facility before we too got sick. But of course, with our immortality, none of us got sick. And that brings us back to how Edward did get sick – which we still don't know. But that's beside the point.

Dr. Patel had seemed to take a liking to us after we never left, but we never paid any attention to him. We should have at the time though. None of this would have happened, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Suddenly one night, late October, nearing my 507th birthday, Edward disappeared. The hospital had said that he passed away, but none of us believed that. No one knew what _really_ happened and from that day forth, Sara spent the next thirty-four years with the hunch that Edward was a vampire and was doing a lot of tracking and preparing for sending out two of us to watch over him for her.

The rest is history…And you just might already know what has happened since me and Jasper have joined the _'Cullen' _clan for the past fifty or so years…

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As I reminisced, I didn't realize that I sank down to the floor outside of Edward's bedroom until his door was flung open. He gazed down at me with dead eyes and quietly asked me to come inside. I nodded my head minutely and went inside, closing the door behind me. "What do you want Edward?" I asked with a slight bitterness to my voice.

"I want you to do me a favor, Alice," he told me, ignoring my tone of voice.

I looked at him questioningly before asking, "What do you want me to do, Edward?"

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his reddish-brown. It was something he did when he was nervous. "Alice, I want you to stop looking for…_her_…future. I told her it would be as if I never existed and I want to keep it that way." A shocked gasp whistled through my teeth. All I felt was shock and disbelief before it turned into the burning rage that ran through my body

"Don't tell me what to do!" I screeched out. "Edward, you may tell me not to look for Bella's future, it doesn't mean I don't _see_! I am attuned to her until she **_dies_**_,_ Edward! You **_know_** that some of my visions aren't unnatural!" I screamed at my older brother, even though he doesn't know it just yet, in frustration. My breaths came in shallow pants and all I saw was red.

I, with one long, hard glare and a nice, menacing snarl to accent it nicely, flung the door open and stormed away. Fleeing heatedly, I left Edward there reeling on what I had said about my visions and Bella. I ran down the stairs of the house, frantically looking for Jasper on the second floor. Stopping dead in my tracks, I had a vision, but it was blurry. All I could make out were the outlines of my family, but no Bella and Mark, and there was no specific location. The strange thing was that I could sense their presences in the vision.

Shaking my head, spiky hair bouncing, I resumed my search for my husband. I finally found him hiding out in the private library Carlisle was kind enough to give him, considering who we are. He was in the history section of the vast room, looking at the many shelves containing books about the past. Jazz looked up when he heard me flit to his side. Grabbing his forearm, I then dragged him away from the library and far away from the house so no one could hear what I had to say.

Finally stopping in a snowy clearing, I took a deep breath and said, "Sara's blocking everyone in the family. I _can _'see' them, but they're just blurry outlines. Bella is a complete black hole; it's like my sister's hiding something she doesn't want me to see. Mar is gone too; I think he's helping them. I think that-" I stopped midsentence as I heard in my head, _'In due time my sister; you shall know the secret we're keeping. In due time you will become part of it…' _

I gazed over at Jasper, seeing as he heard it too. "I don't know what they're all hiding, but I'm going to listen to what your sister says," he told me with a dazed look. "It was always best to follow her lead. I learned that when she was my guardian all those years ago. One thing Sara taught me was to never go against her ominous visions of the future unless you wanted to get hurt…" he trailed off, thinking of the past.

I nodded at him and quickly agreed. "Let's wait a year and get Rose and Emmett back, too. We're going to need more than just the two of us knowing when we're around the others; and we can automatically rule out Edward, Carlisle, even though he knows who and what we really are, and Esme," I told Jazz. He nodded agreeing to my little plan.

"I think that's best, Darlin'," he drawled in his slight Southern accent, agreeing. I hugged him tightly as he kissed me on the head. It felt good to be doing something that would benefit more than just me, but everyone that I love dearly. It never felt good to have nothing to do that didn't help anyone at all. We stood there in comfortable silence, thinking, until Jazz started to rub his hand up down my arm. "Come on, Ali, it's been quite awhile since we left. The others might be worrying about us, especially Esme. You know how she worries." He smiled down at me, using his Southern charm…

I nodded my head in agreement and so we set off, ghosting across the snow so fast that no footprints were left behind. As we headed back to the house, I thought, _'This is going to be a long year...For all of us…'_


	3. Blood of Another

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING PERTAINING TO 'TWILIGHT'...Stephenie Meyer DOES...!**

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Some Things Are Best Kept Secret

**Sara POV – September 30, 2005**

Two days ago I sent Alice a little vague vision of us and a message for the two to ponder over for a little while. I tend to keep a lot of secrets…when I think its best that is. Just like I'm keeping Bella's pregnancy secret because if Alice was to find out and slip while Edward was around…Let's just say that catastrophic events would occur.

How I know, you ask. Well I have visions like my little sister, but different. I don't see the path someone is **on**, the path their decisions _made_. I see the future that depends on the path you _take_, whether you're making the _right_ one or the _wrong_ one. I see all outcomes of the paths you could decide to take...Let's say you have two options: Left and right. If you go left, you will find the good path. Where there is light, peace, serenity and the good fortune you are looking for. If you go right, certain death may find you. There is darkness and the evils of this world. This path contains everything you fear…Whether it's the monsters that follow you, the creatures that could kill you, or death itself.

It doesn't matter if you haven't made your final decision.

…Sometimes I tend to see things that haven't been consciously thought of at all…Like when I saw Edward finding Bella on our birthday all those years ago… But it still doesn't matter, I see all. It's a reason why I am the…the leader, you could say, of our family of immortal witches and wizards. There are many of us, many that are much older than me actually, but they all look to me for guidance. And along with that title I tend to have these charges that I have to take care of from birth, or some point in their young life…

Ben and Al were my first…actually they were _both_ me and Edward's first charges. It was after Dad had died and Mom was too wrapped up in his death, still grieving to really teach them properly – during the time we were still living in Godric's Hollow during the early 1400s. 1418 I think it was, late November to be exact. The thing was that Edward and I had just finished our seventh year at Hogwarts and Ben was on _supposed to be_ on his first semester as a second year there. Mom and Dad had pulled him from school in fear of an ensuing battle against us.

Alice had only been seven for almost a month – seeing as her birthday was on Halloween – when it had happened. Dad tried protecting us with his body the best he could. We got away with a few cuts and bruises. He wasn't as lucky, though… The _thing_ that attacked us will neither be mentioned nor named. Ever. It was never something any of us were able to speak about after the incident. Even Dad's twin sister – Vivian – and their younger siblings – John and Delilah – were ever able to talk about him without breaking down in some sort.

After the funeral in the little cemetery outside of the walls of Dad's first home – Volterra – on the first day of December, it wasn't long before Uncle John and his wife Athena took their eight-month-old daughter, Victoria, and…disappeared. We were never able to find them, but Al and I would catch glimpses of Vicky occasionally as she grew older and Mom would write a few random prophecies during that same time about her, too.

But anyway…getting off base.

About five, maybe six, days ago, I woke up to Bella crying her eyes out and clutching me so tightly that if I wasn't able to die without waking up again, I would have been dead. I just sat there with her in my bed, waiting for the sobs to subside, cradling her in my arms like a small child the whole time. It wasn't till the first signs of light peeking behind the drapes of my room early Monday morning that she finally stopped.

"Sara…" she had sniffled. Bella hid her face in my hair as she said that. She only did that when she was afraid to tell me something as a little girl. It has been years since the last time, come to think of it…

"What is it, _innamorata_?" I murmured quietly, not raising my voice any higher than a soft inaudible whisper so as not to scare her.

"Sara…" she started again shakily, "I need to tell you something…And I hope that you aren't going to be angry at me once I do…" She had trailed off again and grabbed a tissue to blow her nose off of my nightstand.

"Izzy…Whatever it is that you tell me…know this…I will never be seriously angry at you. _Ever**.**_"

'_You will be…' _I could have sworn she said.

Before she spoke, Iz took a deep breath and pulled back enough to look me in the eyes. I saw fright as the dominate emotion clouding the others away. "I'm pregnant, Sara…" I felt my eyes widen in understanding once she said those words. Bella must have mistaken my reaction for something else for she felt the need to start explaining further more. "The baby's Edward's of course…It's been almost two weeks since…well you know. I'm scared that she'll be half-vampire and I don't want her to feel different from her cousins and starve herself from feeding over long periods of time…" I smiled a bit when she knew that the baby was a _girl_.

I let her babble until I could hear the thoughts of Ben, Christine and Seth stir from unconsciousness. "Bella…Did you forget about the lesson I taught you a few years ago? About the way of healing using something within us…using the technique of 'Blood-to-Blood' with the blood of immediate family members…" I asked her with a smile threatening to break onto my face. She looked up at me with a hopeful expression and I just couldn't keep the smile off of my face any more…

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This brings us to now, Friday afternoon - after school.

We all got into our cars. I and my brother Ben got into my black Volvo, while my daughter and nephew – Christine and Seth - got into the back seat. Bella and Mark came around a few seconds later and slid into her silver Audi coupe gracefully at the same second. Once they gave me the okay to go, after Iz started the ignition, I hit the gas and reached 50 before getting to the exit, 115 by the time I hit the road. In my mirror I saw that Izzy was keeping up with me at a steady pace, maybe 100-110, and wasn't tailgating me like _someone_ I know would do if _he was here…_

A few minutes later, after we got off the exit from the highway, I took the back roads that lead up to the Manor in the darkest parts of the forest. Looking again in my mirrors just as I turned into the six-mile-long winding drive, I saw that Iz and I were no longer alone. Because just behind the silver coupe was Charlie's cruiser. Née caught my eye and smiled at me, a wild glint in her childlike blue eyes. Half a minute later, we pulled into the cavernous garage a second behind each other.

"Ready?" I asked and everyone nodded in agreement.

Once we all breezed in through the front door of the house here in Forks, a fraction of a second after each other mind you, I scooped Bella into my arms and ran up the stairs like a speeding bullet. Her brother and parents were following close behind me as I flung the door to her bedroom in the Manor open without much difficulty. Then without a second thought, I threw Mark, Charlie and Renée each a small razor to cut stars into the palms of their hands as I did the same to Izzy's. When they finished, Ben came in carrying a bowl filled with disinfectant alcohol and clean white towels then sat it down on the desk by the door.

I stood over the edge of the bed where Iz sat looking up at me. "Lie down and spread your arms out eagle." She complied at once at my command. I assessed the blood flow on everyone's hands and nodded to myself. _There's enough time for this to work without bringing the blades back into play…_ "Mars, Charlie, Née. Join hands with Bella please for this to work properly." They complied at once to my quiet demand.

"This is going to sting a bit when we know it's working…" was all my little brother supplied to them for explanation.

I flitted away from the bed and grabbed the bag I stashed in the closet doorway early this morning before getting ready to leave for the high school. I stuck my hand inside and pulled the gigantic book of spells from the bottomless depths of the small bag. Pulling out my wand [the Elder Wand, (or Death Stick), if you don't know already] I casted a levitation charm upon the hardback and concentrated on the specific page I wanted. Nudging Ben lightly in the ribs, I signaled him to take my free hand. He nodded and took it.

"Make sure you keep the connection. Don't let it break," I warned the Swans before starting to chant the incantation with my brother. The incantation sounded like some hokey shit that came from some unrealistic movie, but it was real and it actually did something. The joined connection between the four of them through their hands started to glow a dull crimson, then brighter…and brighter until it was somewhat blinding. Through the light I saw that Bella had started to closer eyes. _It's almost over…_

I looked at Ben from the corner of my eye and he nodded his head in confirmation. We stopped chanting. We pulled away from each other at the same second too… "Break the connection…NOW!" I yelled out as the crimson light gradually turned a golden yellow, shade by shade. They pulled away from one another at once, their palms healing at once, no scars left behind.

"So…umm…When's she going to wake up?" Charlie asked sniffling, voice raw with emotion. Renée and Mark nodded their heads vigorously wanting to know too…

Ben and I shared a look before I said anything. "Well…It depends, guys…It may take up to thirty minutes to an hour." I shrugged unknowing. They nodded thoughtfully before leaning over Izzy and kissing her and telling her that they were so happy for her and the baby. Then Charlie and Renée left together, arms wrapped around each other.

Mark stopped and looked at me from the doorway before going to go pick up his girlfriend Camille and her mother Susan from the airport in Seattle. "My sister is going to be okay, _right_ Sara?" He started to chew on his bottom lip as he waited for my answer. I saw in his chocolate brown eyes that he really cared for the wellbeing of his big sister.

I nodded from my spot on the bed, murmuring an inaudible, "Sì, Marco."

I didn't realize it, but I had fallen asleep next to Bella on her king sized bed. Looking around slightly disoriented, I saw that Bella was curled in on herself, crying.

"Bella, what's wrong _cara ragazza_?" I shook her lightly, trying in vain to get her to unwrap her arms from around her legs.

"I'm afraid, Sara."

"Of what, Izzy, what are you afraid of?"

She looked up at me from her position, sadness in her eyes. "I'm afraid that Edward won't love his daughter - if he ever meets her that is. I'm afraid that everything won't be fine anymore if he ever finds out about her." I could hear her heart accelerate in stress.

"Bella, it will play out in the end. Everything will go according to plan. It'll be fine," I whispered lovingly to her, trying to calm her pulse until it was back to normal. She was taking slow, deep breaths as I stroked her long mahogany hair away from her face. "Everything is as it is. If something changes, I'll see it. Never doubt me…"

"But how do you know, Sara? How do you know Alice won't catch a glimpse of me in one of her ominous visions and see me pregnant with _his _baby girl?" Bella asked me with a few tears streaming down her face as she looked down at the stars healing on her palms, before moving them back to her slightly rounded belly, which was unnoticeable to the weak mortal eye.

_It hurts me to see her like this…_

I cocked my head to the side and looked at Mar sitting on the leather sofa in the far corner of Bella's bedroom, gazing at his older sister. My eyes flew back to Iz once we made eye contact; there were tears streaming down his face, too. These two are far more alike than some of us thought. It seems that they share the same emotions at the same time.

"Well, let's see," I started, "Edward asked Ali not to look for your future and I told her in due time she'll know what we know." I slightly made an unnoticeable white lie there at the end. I'm blocking Ali's visions until they're blurry or blank.

I smiled and leaned in to hug her as I saw that she accepted that answer; for now that is. Just wait until she hears about what I did to Ali's visions…

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**September 11, 2006**

"Renesmee, sweetheart, this is your mommy, Bella," I whispered in her ear as we watched her mother sleep in a coma like state as her body healed itself. Nessie smiled angelically at me and placed her little hand against my neck. She showed me an image of Bella and the atmosphere showed recognition…

It's been a day since Bella gave birth to Ness, the sweet little girl in my arms. In that time, Renesmee already had grown a head full of bronze hair similar to mine and Edward's; she even had Charlie's curls. Ness also had a full set of milky white teeth and her mother's chocolate brown eyes. I think that when she's older, Ness might be able accomplish a full metamorphimeagus upon her eye's; the transformation from her mother's shade of brown to me and my brother's shade of green.

The most shocking of all was that she grows at an accelerated rate similar to that of Mary's. (Mary Alice Cullen – or Mac. She's Al and Jazz's daughter. Born August 2nd, 1947) She looked as big as a two month old, passable enough to be a three month old. Ness was just as big as Mary at this age. She's a perfect combination of both her parents.

We're back in Rochester now. We came back after graduation and the exile of Victoria, by me of course, in Forks. Vicky's exile is only temporary until we think we think that she has had enough, fully healed in more than one way. She only tried to go after Bella on instinct, seeing as she was a vampire that lost their mate. With all of that venom in her body, it clouded all of her memories of our family, who we are to her. The exile is to restore her mind and body after I threw her into the raging fire, alive.

If anybody remembers _James_ (insert hisses and growls here), let's get this straight for the record. James never was, nor was he ever Victoria's mate, or lover, or whatever you want to call him… Let's get that through everyone's heads before it consumes them.

A surprising thing is that we found Bella and Mark's cousin, Bree, hiding among the newborn vampires Vicky made. She told us that she started tracking Vicky after her older brother, Emmett, disappeared. I'm kind of surprised that she would actually do that, because, if memory served to be correct, she and Emmett fought constantly. This included bickering and getting into physical and verbal fights.

Between last September and now, things have been…different. That's all I can say.

I almost had a stroke yesterday when I walked back into the infirmary after placing Renesmee in the care of Abby for a few minutes. Mary had cleaned up the room of its blood like I asked her to, alright. She dressed Bella in new clothes too. But the thing was that Mac had put her in a midnight blue chiffon cocktail dress that was so short not even I would wear it. Just to humor her, I let her keep the _thing_ on her aunt until she woke up. _Just wait until Bella sees what Mary put her in._

I'm anticipating the yelling and the screaming and the hitting between the two once Izzy wakes up. It's going to be something to look forward to after the fussing over Nessie…_Maybe even Mary will be thrown out one of the fifth floor windows like in my dream last night…_

I walked over to the edge of the bed where Mar was laying, watching his sister rest. "Mark, take your niece, talk to her," I told him, handing Ness to him as he sat up and she watched the exchange.

"What am I supposed to tell her?" he asked me in a whisper as Renesmee settled into his lap. I just shook my head and shrugged my shoulders at him just before I turned away. I walked over to the CD player and pressed play. The first track that started to play was the lullaby Edward wrote and composed for Bella. I kept it on repeat so that she would have a sense of security and comfort…To feel my brother's presence while she rested.

Just as I was closing the door to Edward and Bella's bedroom, I heard Marcus whispering to Renesmee about our life and family before she was born as far he could remember himself, but nothing about my a-hole of a twin. It's going to be my job of telling her all about _Eddie-Boy_, and nobody else's even though we all _amilo _(love him).

Know what, here's an afterthought… _I HATE MY BROTHER!_

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I really hope that you still like this story...

Please follow my other story - Mixed Signals - the first chapter is up, but it's only the prologue...

Anyway...Thanks for reading!

Love always,  
Gem.


	4. Changes and Decisions

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN 'TWILIGHT' - NEVER HAVE, NEVER WILL!**

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**Some Things Are Best Kept Secret**

**Alice POV - September 12, 2006**

We were on a 'hunting' trip with just me, Jazzy, Rosalie, and Emmett. My brother was bleeding himself dry, feeding only once every two months. Jazz and I were up in a gigantic hundred foot spruce tree, watching as Rose and Em sucked grizzly bears and elk dry of their blood, quenching their thirst.

Tomorrow is Bella's nineteenth birthday. It also marks the one year anniversary of the _incident_ and Edward is acting as if it's just another day and not something to be recognized. As I think of Bella, it makes me think of the others; the whole family is still just as blurry as before if not more so. Two days ago my brother and sister became blank spots along with Mark and Bella. Everything became slightly more complicated than it already was that day in more than one way.

First of all, Edward has locked himself even tighter inside of his room than before and no one knows what to do with him. Also_ Tanya,_ aka 'The Bitch'_, _is throwing herself at him no matter how hard he pushes that _cagna_ away. Second, I'm having an internal debate with myself on whether or not Jasper and I should turn Emmett and Rosie back to their human immortal selves. And lastly, the most important of all, my family is going to great lengths to keep something from me and Jazzy. But if they're keeping something from us, it probably means they're keeping something from…_Edward._

But back to Edward…

In the past year or so he had gone off to track Victoria and kill her. The thing is that I think someone has already gotten to her or before they got to Victoria, she got away, eluded her pursuer. I don't think it's the latter. Deep down inside of me, I feel as if she is part of my family and not a stranger, an enemy we have made. I keep having these memories that become triggered from my childhood. They were visions, really - more than memories from my past to tell you the truth, of a growing Victoria and her parents. I remember seeing a seven- year- old Vicky with her mom and dad – my Aunt Athena-Katy and Uncle John.

The more I think about things like that, the more I think it's time to bring them into our world.

"Jazz, I think it's time," I whispered voicing my thoughts to him.

"Yes, I think you're right," he agreed automatically. "I'll go after my niece and you Bella's cousin, okay Ali?" I nodded my head in understanding. We took out the contacts keeping our real eye color secret and breathed on and cracked the body glimmer off of our bodies. (My siblings made it for us to make me and Jasper more like vampires than humans.) Then we jumped down from our hiding spots in the tree to look for our, temporarily, vampire family members. Jasper and I split up, going in opposite directions, following the trails leading to either Rose or Em.

I easily found Emmett's scent and followed it until I had him within my sight. Em was sniffing the air looking for an appetizing and appealing smell. I used that distraction to speak to him using the lilting voice Sara helped me perfect to scare our prey.

"Emmett, are you scared, because I hope you are. The chase will be… more exciting. For me that is," I asked him. Em's head whipped around to look at me, where the voice originated from.

He cocked his to the side and with a mingling look of fright and puzzlement, Em asked me, "Alice what are you talking about?" A twisted smile crept upon my face when he asked that; only those who are afraid ask what we're talking about.

My smile became bigger with every word I spoke. "Em, I'm going to bite you until all of your blood from when you were human is back in your body. It might hurt or it might not. I have no idea what it feels like because I've never had it done to me personally. But Edward says it's painless, like swimming through water."

"Edward?" he asked. I smiled and nodded in conformation. His eyes widened in surprise as I walked closer. "Impossible."

"Oh, Emmett, Emmett, Emmett. Jasper and I will explain to both you and Rosalie, everything when I'm done. We need you and Rose to help us. It's very important to what shall happen in the future. You have to trust me Emmett. Do you?" I was practically begging at the end for him to go along with what I was saying.

I could feel the tears building up in my eyes as I waited for his answer. I was about to have a full out mental break down until he finally nodded his head and replied, "I trust you, Alice." A wide smile broke out across my face when he said that.

"Thank you," I told him sincerely. He smiled in return and held his arms open in welcome. I slowly stalked up to him, letting my instincts take over. I felt my teeth grow - become longer and sharper than they normally are; fangs really. He didn't even flinch in fright at the sight of my ferocious stance and appearance.

_Maybe it was the sight of a tiny 5', nineteen-year-old-looking girl going up against a large, well muscled, 6'4" man__._ I snickered quietly to myself at that thought.

Then suddenly I lunged at Em's jugular, and bit into his flesh. I could feel where my teeth made contact with the little vein hidden deep within and punctured it, making all of the blood withheld for almost a century, spread throughout Emmett's entire body. I pulled out once I could taste the blood in my mouth and felt Em's body spasm beneath mine as it healed and returned back to normal.

As fast as I possibly could, I caught him and gently lowered his body to the ground. While I waited, I broke the overgrown teeth down to size from my mouth and cleaned up a bit. Then four minutes later Emmett stopped squirming and opened his eyes. He looked at me with his baby blue eyes and I thought telepathically to him, _'Welcome to my world, Emmett Lee McCarty.' _His eyes grew to the size of golf balls. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a little, but his eyes grew large.

"Was that you, Alice?" he asked me with a shaking finger pointed at me.

I nodded and said to him, "Come on Emmett. Let's go find Jasper and his niece so we can talk about what's been happening here and _there._"

He looked at me like I was insane - out of my mind - but it lasted less than half a second. He then asked me, filled with curiosity, "Whose Jasper's niece?"

I smiled and told him, "Rosie," before we ran off to find Jazz and said niece. We found then in the same spruce tree we were hiding in earlier with a hyperventilating Rose and soft, comforting Jasper rubbing her back soothingly, trying to calm her down. Once she saw Em, Rosalie calmed down automatically and threw herself at him.

After we made sure that no one was going to go panicky and fall out of the tree, Jasper and I explained everything, including their past, our past, our family, my visions and the current situation concerning everyone. So basically, long story short, everything Jazzy and I know to today.

**~*Hale*~**

* * *

**April 2010**

Suddenly I was sucked into one of my unexpected visions, causing me to gasp and for everyone to look at me or come running into the room. The vision started out dark and the further I got pulled into it, the more I could see…

_In the vision I saw Charlie and Renee Swan crying and holding each other as they stood before two open caskets. There in the caskets laid the bodies of two people I never thought would have to be laid to rest anytime soon. The bodies belonged to Isabella and Marcus Swan. _

_Then Renee suddenly screams out in grief, "No, not my babies, my angels, NO!" while Charlie sobbed more so on her shoulder. In the background there stood a bronze haired beauty I recognized to be my older sister, Edward's twin, standing along with the rest of the family dressed in black. _

_It wasn't the stream of remorse filled words that came from her mouth nonstop, which caught and held my attention. It was the bronze haired little girl in her arms, clinging for dear life around my sister's neck with the tear-filled chocolate brown eyes looking onto Charlie and Renee, and the bodies of the deceased. _

_My vision was fast-forward to sometime later that day to the open casket on looking Bella's still, white body, now covered in freesia and roses, as Sara leaned over her, losing the stiff posture from earlier, with the child asleep in her arms now. "I hope Edward got what he deserved; a lifetime spent in a fiery hell on earth for the rest of eternity. The thing I still can't believe is that she went to extremes and killed herself, causing Marcus to do the same as her. Oh, how I wish I was there to stop them both before anything transpired," she sighed before continuing, "Now I really hate him for leaving her there in the forest almost five years ago. This is his entire fucking fault. _Se mi senti Edward Cullen, è asino, ti odio con ogni fibra del mio essere._ „She spit the last line, filled with venom and malice, in Italian and walked away. _

_The line in which she said in Italian was roughly translated to be, "If you can hear me Edward Cullen, you jackass, I hate you with every fiber of my being." _

With a loud, startling gasp, I was brought back to the present. "Alice, Darlin', what did you see?" my husband asked from beside me. I just ignored him and turned my glare onto Edward and got right into his face_. _

"Edward," I snarled at him, "This is your entire fault that she had to go and do that. She couldn't hold in the pain anymore after all these years. Because of _you_, Bella _and_ Marcus are dead."

Multiple people screeched out _'Bella'_, or _'Mark'_, in disbelief after I said they were dead, in the background, but I was in too far deep for Jazz to calm me down now, so I ignored those too. I continued with a stream of constant profanities aimed at my brother as he had his hands gripped in his bronze hair, seemingly ready to pull it all out. During my little screaming fest, _Eddie-Boy_ only had one thing to say for himself, repeatedly might I add, and that was, "Impossible."

At the end of my rant I pulled back and hissed in Italian in my thoughts, _"Tu, Edward Cullen, odio con ogni fibra del mio corpo non morto! „_ It was roughly translated to be, _"You, Edward Cullen, I hate with every fiber of my undead body!" _

Then I ran out of the house - pulling Jasper with me, causing him to grab Rosalie's wrist and for her to do the same to Emmett - screaming out agonizingly, finally losing my anger "NO! GODS, NOOO!" My thoughts we filled with screams similar to that, making Edward cringe in pain. His pain made me somewhat better, in a somewhat twisted way.

I ran at a brisk pace compare to my average speed with the three of them following closely behind me. I stopped abruptly in the little clearing we found a few months back, here in northern Maine. (We couldn't stay in Colorado any longer than a month and a half…Edward was making a spectacle of himself.) It was used for occasions such as now - important meetings.

"Alice, what did you see?" Rose asked automatically, after we settled down on the flat rocks Jazz brought forth from the ground with his control over the earth.

Images and phrases from that vision came flooding back through my mind and I broke down causing Jasper to pull me onto his lap and whisper loving and soothing words to me, knowing he felt a concentrated form of my emotions. The others just sat there in stunned silence at my outburst of emotion, waiting for me to stop. After a good ten minutes, I finally calmed down enough to speak.

"Why don't you guys just see for yourself?" I asked through my sobs before I telepathically showed them what I saw earlier.

I waited for someone to break the silence after I finished relaying the vision to them. I know that what was in my vision was shocking, but not enough that we had to sit in silence for over an hour. In the corner of my eye, I saw Emmett looking at me somberly.

"My baby cousins are…dead?" he asked to no one in particular. No one spoke for what felt like days, but was really fifteen seconds.

"I don't think so. There was something in that vision that wasn't real," Jasper said, airing his views on what we saw.

"How do you know, Uncle Jasper?" Rosalie asked disbelievingly.

"Because, Rosie, Sara would never have something to say at a funeral. She never speaks, not even at her Grandmother Esme's funeral, or Carson's for that matter. Plus she never goes up to the casket and speaks to the deceased." He then added after a moment of silence, "I think the vision was a message." Jazz looked at all of us after he said his theory.

"What kind of message are we talking about here?" Em burst out automatically after he had a second to think about it. No one spoke, we were all thinking about what the message my sister was conveying to us.

I thought about the bronze haired little girl in my sister's arms with the chocolate brown eyes - Bella's eyes. She was so beautiful in my vision. She had Edward's face and hair color, Charlie's curls added to her hair, Bella's eyes. But the most shocking of all was that the way the child's face was shaped was the same as the way _mine_ was when I was a little girl…

Could the little girl be the thing everyone was hiding from the four of us? Was the little girl Bella and…_Edward's? _The reason why the whole family was so secretive with the blank or blurry visions? Could it possibly be true?

"Guys," I started, breaking the pregnant silence first. "I think the message was the little girl in Sara's arms. They're trying to tell us about her. I think the girl's parents are Bella and…" I cut myself off before I said Edward's name because I was afraid to admit it out loud.

Jasper looked at me, sensing the sudden change of emotion from me. He then motioned with his hands for me to continue when I didn't finish my thought. "And who, Ali?" he asked.

I breathed a deep sigh and whispered, "Edward," while looking down at my new leather boots, finding them quite fascinating all of a sudden.

When I finally did look up, I saw that Emmett was looking at me like I was insane and Jasper and Rosalie had identical looks of understanding. When Rose saw that Em was giving me the 'is-she-crazy' look, she smacked him in the back of the head with as much force as could muster, causing me and Jazz to laugh wholeheartedly, breaking the tension in the air.

"Ow! Rosie, baby, what was that for?" Emmett yelled out, rubbing the tender spot Rose had just hit. His voice scared the animals of the forest when he screamed out in pain. You could hear the birds squawking in the distance and the deer and other little woodland creatures scurrying away in the opposite direction from us.

"For giving her that look Emmett McCarty. Ali was serious when she said the little girl was Edward's daughter," she told her husband with suppressed anger laced in her melodic voice.

He looked at the three if us incredulously before he whispered, somewhat disbelievingly, "Really?" We nodded our heads simultaneously, answering his question without speaking. Em then just gave an accompanying disbelieving look to match his tone of voice.

"Emmett," I said, capturing his attention, "just look at the little girl. She had my siblings' strange shade of hair color, Charlie's curls to accent them, Bella's brown eyes, and the girl has Edward's facial features." I took a deep breath before continuing, "But the most shocking of all is that the way the girl's face is shaped, is the same as the way mine was when I was a little girl." I never broke eye contact with him as I stated what seemed so obvious in my eyes.

I suddenly felt a strong, intense wave of calmness as Jasper clapped his hands together and said, "Okay," stopping our little staring contest. We all turned to look at him as he continued. "Let's vote. Who says that Ali's assumption is correct; that the little girl is Edward's daughter?"

We all raised our hands, saying yes automatically, as soon as the question left Jazz's mouth. "Now that we have that settled," Rose started, "What are we going to do about the situation?"

I answered for them, seeing as I was the most experienced of the group and they didn't know what to do. "We're going to keep playing this little façade and act as if not a thing has happened recently. We're going to play this mind game my sister's playing and wait."

"Wait? What do you mean by wait, Al?" Emmett asks.

I nod my head and say, "Yes, wait. Wait until something happens - a sign, a person - anything could happen in the future. Anything at all…"

* * *

Well...that's two chapters, one day

Hope you are still enjoying!

Gem


	5. Visions from Another View to Understand

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN 'TWILIGHT'...BUT SOMETIMES I WISH I DO...**

**Some Things Are Best Kept Secret**

**Bella POV – April 2010, the same day**

I was currently standing in Sara's Study, with a sleeping Ness in my arms and a restless Mark by my side, waiting for Sara to finish conveying the false vision to her little sister. Sara was standing in front of us, just before the edge of the dark blue sofa, with a glazed over look in her eyes.

Sara's Study, specifically, is a place for small private meetings or confessions because it has charmed walls that keep sound from escaping unless the door is open just a little bit. It may not seem like it though. Sara's Study has dark midnight blue walls and a wooden floor. She had a custom made wooden desk with a marble desktop and the Cullen Crest carved and painted onto the front. In one corner of the vast room, sits a sofa almost as dark as the walls and a painting Mary gave Sara for her birthday two years ago, over hangs it.

In front of the custom desk, sit three chairs that look like they were made of the softest and fluffiest clouds, in three of the family colors. Behind the desk was a leather swiveling chair. Then out of the double glass doors lays a balcony overlooking the backyard just over the flower garden. And on either side of the desk are overfilled bookcases with some of Sara's personal books. On the desk is a new black laptop with blue and silver flames on it to match the silver desk lamp and multihued stationary set. Finally, to add a delicate beauty to the room is a chandelier with large crystal diamond cut orbs. And if you looked close enough at one, you will be able to see the names of our family in Sara's personal calligraphy etched in the crystal.

Now we were standing around in here, waiting for her to finish the vision. Renesmee couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, so she fell asleep in my arms. Mar, here, was becoming edgy. He was contemplating to bolt from her office, leaving me and Nessie here to explain what happened to him. But every time my brother would air his thoughts aloud, I would threaten him with telling Camille what he has been doing downtown lately (finally looking for a ring, so he can propose), or telling Abby what happened to her brand new UV-tipped arrows (he used them _all_ when he went hunting over three weeks ago).

I was shifting from foot to foot, waiting for Sara to come out of her trance. I was nervous that Ali, Em, Jazz and Rose wouldn't understand what she was showing them, without giving _Edward_ an impression that we've been hiding something. For all I know, Sara made it seem like Marcus and I died or something…

Suddenly, Sara gasped and collapsed onto the sofa behind her, making my brother and I lose our edginess and for Ness to wake up. Within seconds, I'm sitting next to her, Renesmee on my other side, trying to peer around me to look at her aunt, and Mark kneeling down on his knees in front of us.

Ness put her hand on the side of my neck, showing me an image of Sara, there was an ambiance of mingled concern and worry. "I'm not sure," I told her, shrugging.

Without opening her eyes, Sara spoke. "That majorly drained me. Without Edward here to help me, I lose a lot of energy and I feel drained for a couple of days." Then she opened her eyes and looked at the three of us with a wide smile growing on her flawless face. "It worked; they got the message through the little flaws in the vision. The vision might have left an impression something drastic happened, but I know Ali and Jazz know me enough to see what's wrong and what's right." Every time she spoke, she was whispering.

"What do you mean by 'something drastic', Sara?" I asked her as my brother sat cross-legged on the floor and Sara closed her eyes again.

"I mean that the setting was a church with you and Marcus in caskets, dead, and… You know what, I'll just show you," she whispered as she raised her hand to my face and broke through my mental shield.

* * *

_In the vision I saw my parents crying and holding each other as they stood before two open caskets. There in the caskets laid the bodies of my brother and me. _

_Then Mom suddenly screams out in grief, "No, not my babies, my angels, NO!" while Dad sobbed more so on her shoulder. In the background there stood Sara, standing along with the rest of the family dressed in black. _

_It wasn't the stream of remorse filled words that came from her mouth nonstop, which kept me staring at her. It was Renesmee in her arms, clinging for dear life around her aunt's neck with tear-filled eyes looking onto my parents, and the bodies of me and Mark. _

_The vision was fast-forward to sometime later that day to the open casket on looking my still, white body, now covered in freesia and roses, as Sara leaned over me, no longer standing so stiffly as a board, with Ness asleep in her arms now. "I hope Edward got what he deserved; a lifetime spent in a fiery hell on earth for the rest of eternity. The thing I still can't believe is that she went to extremes and killed herself, causing Marcus to do the same as her. Oh, how I wish I was there to stop them both before anything transpired," she sighed before continuing, "Now I really hate him for leaving her there in the forest almost five years ago. This is his entire fucking fault. _Se mi senti Edward Cullen, è asino, ti odio con ogni fibra del mio essere._ „She spit the last line, filled with venom and malice, in Italian and walked away. _

_The line in which she said in Italian was roughly translated to be, "_If you can hear me Edward Cullen, you jackass, I hate you with every fiber of my being._" _

* * *

"Sara!" I shrieked, causing her to open her eyes and Mark to jump in shock. Renesmee was unfazed by my little outburst.

"What?"

"Why? Why did you do that? You made it seem like we're **_dead_**, Sara. Open casket funeral, grieving family and friends, crying," I ticked everything off on my fingers as I spoke.

She looked at me with appraising eyes as my brother screeched out a "What!" disbelievingly, and then she leaned toward me slightly and smiled like she knew something I didn't.

"What were the things that caught your attention, other than the caskets and your parents?" she asked rhetorically before she continued. She didn't give me a second to answer. "Was it Renesmee and the things I was saying, because if it was, you're correct? Since you've never seen me at a funeral, I'll tell you what I'm like at one. I never speak and I never go up to the casket to speak to the deceased's body.

"Not at my grandmother's funeral and not at my cousin's nor either of my parent's. You'll never, **_ever_**, catch me speak or utter a word. And Nessie should catch your attention if you have never seen her before in your life," she told me so that I could understand.

Instead of me answering, my brother did. "So what you're saying, Sara, is that Edward believes that we're dead," he pointed at himself and me, "and the other's understand that we're **_not_** dead and that Nessie is what we **_are _**hiding from them. Correct?"

Sara nodded her head gravely. "Yes, that's correct. They know they have to keep secrets from Carlisle, Esme and, especially, Edward. If they - my twin and the vampires - believe that you two are dead, the chances that they solve the surreptitious vision, is slim to none. Especially Edward, he has all that venom swimming in his body. Until a strong memory hits him, the venom will continue to cloud his mind unlit further notice.

"Now, I know that Carlisle and Esme can keep a secret, but it's good to have more than just my twin in the dark. Not everyone has to know, just them and nobody else," she concluded.

"Okay then. Back to the venom thing," Mark asked as Ness fell asleep again soon after it became silent in the Study.

"Yes?"

"What kind of strong memory are we talking about here?"He asked, arms flailing about. "Are you saying that if Bella or I make an interaction with Edward, his memories will be restored?"

Sara shook her head gravely, and whispered, "No, Marcus. You two are part of his vampire memory, not of his human one. And no, Alice nor Jasper would be able to have triggered his memory, no matter how many interactions they've had. Since they're holding back some of their personality, they are not truly being themselves.

"If it was to be me or, let's say, Aunt Vivian, either one of us could confront him and say two words that could jog his memory. If it was me, I could start babbling all about our parents or about the most important things that happened before he decided to go abroad since our birthday 1901."

She took a deep breath before continuing slowly, "I would be able to see the comprehension dawn on his face and hear all of the things that are going on in that pretty little head of his within the first five seconds of me speaking of the past. Edward would be able to see what I was talking about. Seeing what I'm speaking about as if we were there once again." By the end she was gasping, trying to catch her breath. It turned quiet after she finished. No one dared to break the prolonged silence.

An angelic smile suddenly graced Sara's face before she, too, fell asleep on the sofa in her Study along with Ness. I could feel the stare my brother was giving me, boring a hole onto the side of my head. Slowly, I turned to look at him as I pulled Renesmee on my lap.

"What?" I asked him when he didn't speak.

Mark blinked furiously, as if he forgot where he was, before speaking. "She's serious, isn't she?"

"Of course she is, Mar," I told him. "When was the last time, in the past six months or so, she made a joke or remotely made someone laugh?" I ask without leaving him room to answer before continuing. "I personally think she plans what she does ahead of time, thinking each step seriously before taking it. It's in her nature to do so. Sara is a serious, yet sometimes outgoing – or vicious in some cases, person who likes when things end the way she saw them. On that better path," I told my little brother my opinion of the character of who Sara Cullen is.

"Now, go tell Adain that his wife is asleep in her Study while I tuck Ness in bed for the night, please," I asked him before adding, "I don't want to wake up to a riot where the whole family is trying to look for her in the morning." He smiled slightly as he nodded his head and opened the door and motioning for me to go first.

Before I went off down the hallway, I reached up and kissed my brother on the cheek whispering, "_Buona notte, Marcus._ „ He nodded his head, conveyed the same sentiment of good night to me and his niece and kissed us both on the cheek.

As I walked down the hall, around the corner and up the stairs, I thought about everything Sara told me tonight. It gave me greater hope to know that four more members of my family know about my beautiful daughter. _All except her father, _I thought somberly as I open the door to Renesmee's bedroom.

Without jostling Ness awake, I swapped her day clothes to her pajamas with a little bit of hand magic. Then I pulled the covers back from the mattress of the four poster bed, laid her there and pulled them back right up to her chin. I placed a feather light kiss on her forehead and whispered a quiet, "_Buona notte, innamorata,_ „ or _Good night, sweetheart._

"Momma," Ness asked gaining my attention again as she suddenly wakes up.

"Yes, sweetie," I asked, encouraging her to speak further.

"When will I finally meet Auntie Sara's twin, my daddy?" she asks me with longing in her voice.

I look at her, somewhat, pleadingly with a sad smile playing upon my lips. "One day really soon sweetheart, but he won't know we're watching him. The people that you **_do _**get to meet are your Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper, my cousin, Emmett, and his wife, Rosalie, who is your Uncle Jasper's niece," I told her quietly. She smiled brightly at the last bit of information. Renesmee will finally get to meet four more family members and, however briefly, her father. _My one and only true love, Edward…_

My heart beat picked up - and I knew she could hear it - when I realized that she wasn't disappointed that she wouldn't be able to speak to Edward. "Now, let's go back to sleep Nessie, shall we," I told her leaning back to tuck her back into bed. Just as I leaned back, she put her little hand on my cheek, conveying her thoughts to me.

'_Stay with me until I fall asleep again, mommy', _she thought. I smiled and nodded my head as I laid there and watched my daughter close her eyes and start to drift back into oblivion.

I finally got up from her side when I heard her heartbeat find its steady rhythm. Then just before I closed the door to her room, I looked back at my daughter and saw Ness smile and mutter quietly in her sleep, "I love you, momma."

I was smiling the whole way to my bedroom. Along the way, Adain passed me carrying Sara bridal style toward their room. When I rounded the corner to my room I saw Christine and Seth bickering about whom was the better mixed martial arts fighter.

Just as I got to the door, Chris stopped her cousin from speaking any further and came up to me, Seth trailing behind reluctantly. My smile faded the closer they got. "Aunt Bella," she asked in a sickly sweet voice, "who do you think is the better fighter? Me," she pointed to herself, then him, "or Seth?" I looked at them both, contemplating whether or not I should tell the truth, or just lie to them. '_Go with the truth', _I thought.

"Well," I began, "I think Christine is the better fighter. Chris is-" Before I could finish, Seth cut me off.

"What! I'm the better fighter! Why?" he screeched out disbelievingly. I narrowed my eyes at him while Chris snickered quietly beside him.

"As I was saying," Seth blushed when he realized he had cut me off. "Chris is the better fighter because she doesn't do what you would expect; whereas you, Seth, are very predictable in your techniques. Christy is ready for anything that is thrown at her in a split second decision. That's where the future seeing comes in handy. Plus she's faster, like her mother, and has more experience," I finished, opening the door to my room.

"What do you mean, 'has more experience', Aunt Bella?" Seth asked me putting a hand lightly on my shoulder - stopping me from escaping.

I smirked at him and said, "Your cousin here, she took almost as many different martial arts classes as Sara. Plus Chris got in her fair share of fights back in Forks. Whether it was at school, or just with anyone that tried to come onto her," His mouth was slightly agape as he stared at his older cousin the whole entire time I told him. I could tell Seth was disbelieving when his mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water.

It was quite entertaining if I do say myself.

"Wow," was all he could get out of my nephew's mouth. Then Chris decided to nudge him in the ribs, quite hard that is. He almost doubled over in pain. "Sorry," he muttered after he collected himself. "Anyway," Seth started again. "How many forms of martial arts does Aunt Sara know?" I fleetingly glanced at Christine out of the corner of my eye and saw her nod her head eagerly. She wanted to know too.

"You two seriously don't know how many forms she knows?" I asked incredulously. With each word I spoke, my eyes narrowed infinitesimally. They both shook their heads vigorously. I heaved a sigh before I spoke. "The last time I counted it was up to nine, maybe more.

"Now, before you ask like what, I'll tell you. There's sword fighting, kuta, jujitsu and tae kwon do. Those are the only ones that come to mind right now. But if you ask Sara in the morning, promptly at eleven maybe even later, she will tell the other ones she knows." My voice was somewhat hard, cold – signaling that this was the end of the discussion.

I looked between the two thoroughly stunned cousins and smirked. "Now, shoo, please, I would like to go to sleep," I told them, lightly pushing them both in the direction of the stairs toward their bedrooms. I slipped into my room before either of them could say anything more to me.

Once inside of my room, I took off my blue and silver Converse sneakers and placed them in the closet that was internally expended with a spell, along with the others upon the shelf. Then I walked out and dove onto the fluffy blood red comforter. Just before I hit the eiderdown, I changed from my black skinny jeans and orange blouse with a baby blue ribbon tied around the waist to my silk black pajama pants and button up that Bree gave me with the little Swan crest on the back of the button up.

I then buried myself under the blankets, and slipped into another dream featuring a handsome young man with tousled bronze hair that fell into his piercing green eyes with features that were more boyish than of an adult. _Edward Cullen, my love…_

* * *

WOW...! ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THE **SAME** DAY!

A new record for me!

I **REALLY** hope that people are still reading...It makes me sad that no one is saying anything...:(

With love (as always),

Gem


	6. Meetings and a Brunch to Accompany

_**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN 'TWILIGHT'... I ONLY PLAY WITH THE CHARACTERS AND MIX THEM WITH MY OWN!**_

**HEY, BEFORE YOU START READING...KNOW THAT THERE IS A NOTE FROM ME AT THE BOTTOM...IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME!**

**THANK YOU!**

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**Some Things Are Best Kept Secret**

**Bella POV - May 21, 2012, Early morning...**

I was awoken to a sharp, high soprano screaming in my ear, "Wake up, Aunt Izzy!" and two bodies crashing down onto the bed.

"What the hell?" I screeched out as I threw back the blankets to be rewarded by the two excited forms of Mac and Sara bouncing on the bed. I swear that Alice gets her hyperactive personality from her older sister, which means that Mary has it, too, unfortunately. I looked at the things in their hands and groaned. "Guys, no, I had enough of being Alice's little Bella Barbie doll. I'm sorry, but, I'm not going through this!"

"Oh, Bella, Bella, Bella. We're not going to do what Ali has done in the past. She spends hours, we spend mere minutes," Sara chided, lightly waving the hot iron and and dark blue brush in her hands.

"We're going to go visit Mom, Dad, Rose and Em in a nice little café, where the staff doesn't obsess over us, in uptown New York City for a late brunch," Mary told me excitedly. The excitement in her currently earth brown eyes became brighter the more she bounced around on the duvet.

Then she abruptly stopped, eyes becoming a light hazel, and groaned aloud, "I really don't want people to recognize us as we walk through the city. It's already disturbing that every time we get out of our cars and stroll down the street to _Caffè dei dii_, or _La Tua Cantante_, that everybody keeps trying to be 'close' acquaintances with us, just to try and get our money," she ranted, until Sara put a hand over her mouth.

Mary was about to open her mouth again as soon as Sara took her hand away, until she saw the aggravated look that graced her aunt's striking features. Then Sara smiled as she spoke again, "Anyway, we're going to take my Volvo, Ben's Mercedes and Mark's Audi. Our brothers and Lucas are already double checking the tint on the windows right now, before they get ready," she nudged Mac lightly in the ribs as she continued, "I want this one's mother to see how much we've changed in the last six years and to finally meet Nessie."

"Okay, now that I have that information, I have a few questions. Who's going with us and what time is it?" I looked at both of them with questioning eyes.

"To answer your first question, me, you, Ben, Bree, Luke, Mac, Ness, your brother, and Vicky. For your second question, as of right now," she glanced down at her watch for an eighty-fourth of a second, "it's six o'clock." She smiled when I groaned and flopped back down onto the pillows. "Now go get in the shower, so we can do your hair and makeup. Oh, and before you ask, Chris, Sam and Camille, are going to help Bree, Nessie and Vicky get ready." Abruptly she and Mary pulled me up by my forearms and ran me to my bathroom before I could say anything, knowing I wouldn't have gone on my own will. I heaved a sigh and got into the shower before anything else bad would happen.

I thought about seeing Alice and Jasper the most over Emmett and Rosalie the whole time I was standing under the cascading hot water in the shower. The thing is, Rose and I never really got along…well, you could say. She had a strong disliking of me ever since she first laid her eyes on me and when she found out that Edward and I were together. I was supposedly ruining her family by having a human knowing their secret. At the time that is; I don't know how she feels now.

I shook those thoughts away and washed my hair with some of my favorite strawberry scented shampoo. I rinsed it out and lathered my body with some of the same kind freesia scented body wash I used since I was in high school.

I then stepped out of the shower fifteen minutes later, wrapping a towel around my body as soon as I felt the cold air creep onto my skin. Cautiously, I opened the door of the bathroom and looked both ways before running back to my room. Once I stepped foot in front of the door, less than a second later, it was flung open and Abby and Sara suddenly attacked me - blow drying my hair with an intense heat that was perfect temperature and taking away the water from my body - using their power over the elements of fire and water.

By the time they finally let me take a step away from them; I realized that I was fully clothed. I was dressed in some of Sara's new clothing line from _Constantine_; it was called 'Lilith', the feminine counterpart to 'Lucifer' designed by Ben.

I was wearing a pair of dark as night, black skinny jeans that hugged my figure and a tight-fitting, blood red, long-sleeved shirt that reached just below my hip bone by a couple of inches. On the breast, it said **_BELIEVE_** in silver calligraphy that was undeniably Sara's own. To go over that, I was also wearing a black, hooded, zip up sweatshirt that said **_SWAN_** on the front just over my heart and **_CULLEN_** across the back in Ben's own calligraphy. There were little blue and silver flames around the large 'C' on my back. I recognized the design as being one of Ben's, but personally made for me; a birthday present.

"Thanks, guys, I wouldn't have chosen these clothes without someone forcing me to like you just did," I told them with a wide smile playing on my lips as I looked at myself in the full length mirror at the back of the closet.

With a teasing smirk playing on the edges of her lips, Abby smugly replied, "It took me about half an hour to get the perfect outfit for you that would knock the socks off of Alice. Sara here," she nudged her lightly in the ribs, "wouldn't let anyone else choose your clothes but me." I raised my eyebrows playfully at Sara when she said that.

Unexpectedly blushing - an anomaly in itself - Sara explained. "I let her do it because I saw that she would choose the better outfit than Mary would in my dream premonitions last night. Mary's was something atrocious from Abercrombie and Fitch about five years ago. I didn't do it myself because I had to go check the tint while you we're in the shower and Mary's trilling voice is better to wake people up at ungodly hours of the morning!" She was smirking at the end.

"Hey!" Mary screeched out, "It may be true, but at least it isn't as high as my mom's." There was a murmur of agreement between the three of us as she walked up to me with a pair of leather, burgundy five inch stiletto-heeled knee high boots. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me as I took the boots from Mac and zipped them on over my jeans.

"Hey, Abby, I want to ask you something," I ask, getting her attention.

"Yeah, Bells."

"I was just wondering…Where were you when I woke up earlier?" I asked as we walked out of the closet and I sat in front of the vanity, with Sara brushing my hair rhythmically and Mary going through the makeup meticulously in the vanity.

"Oh," she chuckled, "I was in the back of the closet looking for that sweatshirt Ben gave you for your birthday." Then she jabbed her thumb at Mary and said, "While I was running around that monstrous closet of yours, I could hear, clear as day, her voice drowning out Sara's when they woke you up." Abby was now casually leaning on the wall next to the mirror as Mary and Sara put the finishing touches to my makeup and hair in a matter of minutes. She was trying to hold in her laughter by pressing her lips together tightly.

"Done!" the two of them exclaimed at exactly the same second. They both moved away from the mirror, allowing me to see their final product.

In the reflection, I saw that Sara left my hair down pulling it away from my face with a sapphire-encrusted headband, loose ringlets. She and Mary had put on a range of color that complemented my face perfectly that wasn't too heavy. On my face, there was a light blue eye shadow, mascara giving the illusion that my eyelashes are quite long, dark blue eyeliner, a slight pink blush added to my cheeks that was sure to be flushed during brunch, and a dark red lipstick upon my full lips.

"I look good," I observed aloud to them.

"Aunt Bella, you look more than _good_! It's more like smoking hot, beautiful, exquisite; more than just _good_!" Mary sneered _'good'_ whenever she said it to me. I tuned her out and just went along with what she said. Mary Alice can get in a heated argument over cosmetics applied to our faces when we say something that was offending to her, just like her own mother. The littlest things will provoke a response, from either of them.

How could she think of how cosmetics looks on our flawless skin at times like this? That's the weirdest thing about Mary. She'll start to argue with you over nothing and make a big deal out of it for no reason. She'll try to prove you wrong when it really is right, but most of the time she's levelheaded. Like that time we had to fight off the newborn army Vicky had created when she was still a vampire. Mary acted as if this was the on the normal everyday agenda. Who in their right mind (other than Sara) would be calm and collective – in both mind and body - during a full out war created by your own cousin? Mary Alice Cullen, that's who'll be calm during a confrontation…

In the background of Mary's ranting about cosmetics and the beauty that is magnified when applied properly, I heard Sara and Abby snickering behind my back. Without speaking aloud, I rounded on them both. **_'You think this is funny? She thinks that we're listening to every word that comes out of that mouth of hers. In most ways she is the spitting image of Alice, and that's not something that we need another of. One is enough!'_** I seethed telepathically to them both.

**_'Bella, it is hilarious. Mac sounds just like my sister - voice, personality, everything really. Alice and Mary could be mistaken for twins if they were seen together ranting about the same thing at the same time.' _**Sara thought telepathically with an underlying tone of sympathy for me hidden within her words.

Then Abby added to the private conversation. **_'You should have seen that time when Alice and Jasper came home in 1974. Those two bickered constantly over nothing and Jazz thought it was quite hilarious. He would sit there in a chair, making himself comfortable, just to watch his wife and daughter argue over something as small as the color of the fabric that should be used on one of Sara's new designs.'_**

**_'Oh, yeah, I remember that one real clearly. They almost got into a fight that year, so I had to peel them apart from each other before anything majorly happened – like ripping each other's throats out. Jasper calmed them down enough that Mac fell asleep on the living room couch. I then took the design, colored it myself and chose the fabric as if nothing at all had happened. When Mary woke up, they made up with each other and from that moment on, they acted as if nothing ever happened that day.' _**Sara was shaking her head at the end.

Abby's expression was of one that was lost in memories of the past. **_'That's right; everything went back to normal after that little incident. Charlie thought that something was attacking the Manor when he came to stay with us with Née for a little while before the wedding was to be prepared in Forks the following summer…' _**She trailed off after that last thought and we all turned to look at Mary.

I sat there in the little cushioned chair found in Sara's travels in Italy when she went back to change her father, Constantine, back into a human immortal. I thought about the brunch that was to come at around ten-thirty. I asked myself many questions, such as: What will they think of us? And then there was the classic, what will they think of my little girl, my daughter, Renesmee?

I asked myself questions like those various times as I sat there in front of the vanity. Each question left me reeling and asking myself another one closely related to the last.

Everything was silent for little while before they all left the room one by one. But before Sara closed the door behind herself, she said to me, "Go help the girls, Izzy, they're having problems doing your cousin's hair. They can't decide what to do with it. By the time you're done helping them, we should be ready to go."

I nodded my head in understanding as she closed the door behind herself and ghosted toward her bedroom. I quickly grabbed my messenger bag from the perch it was hanging off of and put my wallet, lip gloss, cell phone, digital camera and my electric blue mp3 player Adain and Abby gave me for my birthday last year. I even grabbed the overfilled photo album filled with pictures dating back from 1750 to the present.

Then I opened the door after I made sure I had grabbed everything I need for the trip to NYC. Momentarily, I stopped in the hall, listening for the voices of the girls. I smiled as I followed the bickering and complaining voices of my nieces, cousin, daughter and sister-in-law.

"I don't know what to do with your hair, Bree," I heard Camille complain aloud upstairs.

I smiled as I walked toward the staircase leading upstairs. "Well, I don't know either, Cam. Maybe Sara or Abby will be able to help," Bree replied to Cam. There was something in her voice I couldn't put, but I brushed it off.

Now heading up the stairs, I heard Chris and Sam arguing about which was the better way Bree's hair should be. I chuckled as I listened to Ness's slow, heavy heart beat and deep, even breaths; she's asleep, I thought lovingly.

I knocked lightly on the door and then opened it to see all eyes on me. "Aunt Bella." Sam's statement came out came out more as a question.

"Yes. Who did you expect to come and help you, Carr?" I asked chuckling. They all shook their heads automatically. "Now, I'm here to help with your little problem. My way to help would be to ask Bree a question."

"What kind of question, Izzy, would that be?" Bree asked me thoroughly confused, not only on her face, but in her voice.

Smiling widely, I asked, "Bree, what arrangement would you like your long, beautiful hair to be in; up or down?" Her smile matched mine when she realized that she would be able to choose.

"I would like my hair to be straightened and pushed away from my eyes with a headband," she spoke with finality as she smirked at the disbelieving looks Chris, Sam and Camille were giving us. Vicky just snorted at them without looking up from her Vogue magazine while they stuttered and stumbled for words.

While they were trying to shake off their stupor, Vicky and I set off to work with the flat iron and hair straightener on her curly hair, oh so like my father's. Three minutes later, Bree's dark, coffee brown hair was silky and pencil straight. It was pushed away from her eyes with a florescent orange headband with a giant bow attached off to the side. She looked pleased with the final product Vicky and I did to her long tresses. You could tell by the pleasurable smile on her reflection in the mirror and the smug little smirk she kept shooting at the three standing next to us.

Chris was the first to stumble out of her shocked state and spoke quite clearly compared to before. "How did you know she wanted that, Aunt Bella?" she asked me as she pointed a shaky finger at Bree's straight locks of hair.

I shrugged and said, "I didn't know. I was just listening to you guys asking her what you should do and Sam and Chris fighting over which was better. Cam, you told her you didn't know what to do with Bree's hair." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bree's face become a light shade of pink.

I continued by saying, "When she said she didn't know either, she was lying. I could hear it in her voice." My cousin's face was a bright shade of red, becoming darker with every passing second. Internally, I was laughing so hard that I was able to catch my older cousin lying. On the outside, it seemed as if I was being smug.

It was a rare occasion that you could catch actually anyone lying in the family. We are all very experienced liars. It was very common for us to lie, especially when we don't want the monsters to be able to trace us here at the Manor, located here in Rochester, New York on a private road in the deepest part of the forest called Valley Drive. Sometimes, we lied to each other just in spite to get someone angry and have a nice little fight that usually settled it properly.

I went to sit on the bed next to my daughter as the girls added a light bit of makeup on Vicky and Bree for a finishing touch. "Ness, Nessie. Wake up, _innamorata._ We're going to be leaving soon." I gently shook her awake as I said those words to her.

Slowly, Renesmee sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She looks so cute when she wakes up from a nap. "Mommy is Bree's hair done, because when I fell asleep everyone was arguing about what they should do with it?" she asked with that sweet soprano of hers. I smiled and nodded. Then I scooped her up in my arms and ran down to the garage, Vicky and Bree in tow.

In the garage, everyone else was there waiting leaning on the cars or standing around talking. "Okay, we're ready to go, right?" Sara asked, eyeing everyone, waiting to see if anyone would contradict her. We all nodded yes and then she, Ben and Mark go into the driver's seat of their cars. The rest of us got into the separate vehicles, too. I got into the passenger seat of Sara's Volvo while Ness climbed into the back. In Ben's Mercedes, Luke and Vicky were with him. And finally in Mark's Audi, Bree and Mac are with him.

Once Sara made sure that we were all in the cars, she took off down the drive with Mar and Ben following closely behind us. I gazed out of the window the entire time we were driving down the highway, heading to uptown New York. The entire time I thought about seeing Alice and Jasper and Emmett and Rosalie after all of these years with little to no contact.

Some things have changed, while others have not. Our personalities and appearances have stayed the same while our likes and dislikes have changed constantly. Family members have been found or brought back into our life after life altering things happened.

There was Victoria trying to get revenge over me six years ago. It was ignited by the vampire venom messing with her mind and body. Sara defeated her and sent Vicky to purgatory temporarily. She had created an army of newborn vampires, and guess who we found hiding among them. Bree, my cousin Bree, that's who! She was trying to track her brother Emmett, who was definitely a vampire at the time, but along the way she caught onto Vicky by accident.

In much more recent years we've found Lucas, Rose's younger brother, hiding in Cairo, Egypt – near the pyramids - from their father, Jonathan. Jonathan is Jasper's younger brother; he tried to keep them from learning their magic. It was a futile attempt; if you have the smallest inkling of magic the monsters and dark wizards can find you. So there was no point in keeping Luke and Rose from their powers, they would have learned eventually over time with everything out there…

I was brought out of my reverie by the sound of my daughter's voice. "Mom," she was sitting on my lap, the passenger side door open. Nessie reached her hand up to touch my face. I saw my face, seen through her eyes, with glassy eyes looking out of the windshield of Sara's car. There was a sense of confusion and worry mingled around the image.

I managed a small smile and patted the hand on my cheek. "I'm okay, _innamorata_, just thinking," I told her.

She smiled in return and said in her sweet voice, "Good because I'm really hungry and I want to finally meet Auntie Alice and Auntie Rosie and Uncle Jasper and Uncle Emmett." I just chuckled in response and pulled us out of the Volvo together, closing the door behind me. I walked up to the door where Lucas was waiting with Renesmee in my arms.

"You ready, Izzy?" he asked me, somewhat hesitantly for some unknown reason.

"As ready as I will ever be, Luke." He nodded and held the door to the café as I walked in before him.

As soon as I stepped foot into the café, Alice and Emmett came running over to me, screaming out my name. Once Renesmee saw them coming towards us she hid in my hair. "Sweetie, it's okay. It is just Ali and Em."

She reached up to put hand upon my throat. 'They're so loud and obnoxious', she thought. A small smirk formed upon my face at those words. In the background, I heard Sara snicker quietly from where she was standing beside Rose and Jasper.

"Bella, Bella! It's so good to see you after all of these years! By the way, I so totally love your outfit! It suites you," Alice squealed in one breath and bounced on the balls of her feet as she and Em stopped in front of me. Al was a blur of inky black and white as she jumped about before me. She leaned in to hug me, careful not to hurt Nessie. I returned it just as enthusiastically as she did. Emmett still looked as big and burly as he did six years ago. But still as soft and loving as before, with his dimples that made him look like a little boy when he smiled hugely.

"Alice. You look excellent. Your personality and fashion sense hasn't changed one bit since I last saw you," I told her looking at her designer jeans and light pink button up shirt and black ballet flats. She smiled appreciatively in return at my comment with a gleam in her hazel eyes.

"Bells, it's great to see you," Emmett boomed as he scooped me up into his arms, giving a great big bear hug, careful not to suffocate Ness. "So, this is her?" he asked then, pointing at Renesmee.

I nodded, "Yeah, this is Renesmee." I shook her gently, trying to pry her away from my hair. _"Renesmee, desidera venirlo a contatto, „ _I told her in Italian, trying to coax her to look at him. It was roughly translated to be _"He wants to meet you." _I felt her nod against my neck and slowly pulled back to look my cousin in the face.

I heard him and Alice, even Jasper and Rose, gasp when they first saw Ness. Emmett was so shocked that his mouth was agape. Alice was, too, shocked, but she shook off the stupor and spoke. She leaned in slightly and smiled kindly. "Hi," her voice was surprisingly low and soft, "I'm Alice, your daddy's younger sister. What's your name, _innamorata_?"

Ness smiled a toothy grin in response to Alice's kindness and calm passion. "Hi, Auntie Alice, I'm Renesmee, but you can call me Nessie. Can I hug you?" she asked her shyly.

"Of course _tesora_, you can hug me." Renesmee leaned out of my arms and reached to wrap hers around Ali's neck. Al leaned the rest of the way and enveloped her niece in a complete hug. I let go as soon as Alice took hold. _"Ti amo e neppure non li ho conosciuti per mezz'ora, „_ she whispered conspiratorially into her ear. She said something along the lines of, _"I love you and I haven't known you for a half hour."_

My gaze turned to Emmett as she said that. Em's face was one of shock, confusion and elation all mixed together. "Em, what's the matter?" I asked him grinning.

With a shaky hand, Em pointed at Renesmee and asked slowly, "Is she really your daughter, Bells?" I nodded, smiling at my beautiful angel in Alice's arms. "Wow, she's even prettier than in that vision two years ago."

"Thank you, Uncle Emmett. That is very kind of you to say that." Ness had on another toothy smile upon her cherub-like face. Emmett just nodded dumbly as he gazed adoringly at my little girl. I watched as Alice swung Renesmee playfully in a circle, both laughing the whole time.

Renesmee looked the happiest I have seen her in months. Lately a lot of monsters have been trying to get into the Manor and she's been having nightmares that have become real within twenty-four hours of having the dream. Sara said that it was only temporary for her to have those dreams. She told me that Seth had them too when he was about her age. When I asked Abby about it she told me that Seth's dreams became true within a twelve hour time span of having it.

Half the time I would wake up late in the night with Ness trembling slightly with her face buried in my hair. She would be clutching my side tightly, mumbling something about keeping a monster away from the front door. At first, I was scared when Nessie would scream in her sleep, causing everyone to come rushing to check on her. If I wasn't the first to get to her, it was Sara, whispering soothing things in her ear and stroking her hair the way she would for me when I was little.

Then as time passed and her dreams stopped being so vivid like the first Ness had shown me and Mark in the beginning, the monsters became too afraid to even step foot onto the property. Everyone would make sure that no one would get hurt or, worse, bitten by the creature. Bites were the worst that we've had to endure. Those of us who do have healing powers, like Sara, can only heal certain people. In Sara's case she can only heal her twin, through bites or injections of her blood or tears…

Emmett then wrapped his arm around my shoulders and guided us eagerly to the table where everyone was currently standing around. Alice was trailing behind us, still whispering conspiratorial things into Ness's ear in Italian. Once Em stopped in front of the table, Rose stopped speaking with her brother and Jasper and looked at me with a mix of emotions swimming in her eyes. There was sadness and hope and a slight bit of elation mingling as she gazed at me with a slight frown on her face.

As if she made a snap decision, she walked up to me and started speaking. "Bella, please say that you forgive me."

I looked at her perplexed and asked, "What are you talking about, Rose?"

"I'm talking about all of the times that I acted like a bitch towards you when I was still a vampire. I want you to say that you forgive me for every mean thing I said or did to you. Will you please?" I gazed into her violet-blue eyes and saw that she was serious about being worried that she offended me.

I couldn't help it, but I laughed hysterically in her shocked face. "Rose, you truly believe that you had offended me by the things you did in the past?" She nodded confusedly as she gave me the 'is-she-crazy' look. I barked another laugh at her shocked face. I could have sworn that I her Sara snicker again under her breath. She was probably listening to some of Rose's thoughts and was laughing at the same thing as me. Jasper and Mac barked out a single laugh too; it seemed that they too felt Rose's shock and confusion.

Rose finally shook off her stupor and spoke. "Bella, I truly do believed that I emotionally hurt you."

I smirked and said, "Rosalie Lilian Hale, you never hurt me with the things you said or did. Do you know why?" she shook her head, "Because I knew that you had envied me with my humanity. Some part of you still thought humanly and not letting your mind cloud over with the venom completely. From the inside, you fought the venom, every decade, year, month, week, day, hour, minute and second, even if it was subconsciously."

The tears started to stream down Rose's pale face, under her violet-blue eyes. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and softly whispered, "Why are you crying Rose? It is okay, nothing to worry about."

"I'm crying because I'm happy, Bella. You never held any animosity against me when you could have on numerous occasions," she mumbled through her tears.

I hugged her fiercely, mumbling into her ear at the same time, "It's okay Rose!" In the background I heard some of them cooing and awing at the two of us. It was a cross between embarrassing and picture perfect. I felt the blush creep all of the way to my hairline; Sara snickered quietly under the cover of the cooing, but I still heard it. _She was snickering a lot lately…_

The rest of the morning played out like this. Throughout the entire brunch, Emmett, Alice, Jasper and Rose cooed about how beautiful and pretty and how much Renesmee looked like me and Edward. Everyone else, me included, was snickering under our breath every time they said something like that. We knew that they could hear us every time we would laugh. Alice nor Jasper nor Rose or Emmett seemed to mind the laughing. Ness would blush furiously at each compliment they threw at her.

Emmett had inhaled plate after plate of food, as if it was the first time he had eaten in a while, which is probably true. Bree kept teasing him about it, too. He would then retort with some smartass comeback. Rose would stare at her brother as if she couldn't believe that he was actually there, sitting next to her. Luke would constantly ask what was wrong and she would just shake her head, saying it was nothing.

Then after everything was cleaned away, before the fruit salad Sara and Alice insisted upon having, came, pictures were taken. So many were taken that I thought that there wouldn't be enough room on the memory card. There was even a group shot that the elderly owner of the café, Liz, took for us. Sometime later, I realized that Jasper and Rosalie and Emmett were shooting Victoria incredulous looks. Ali didn't seem to be fooled. The others kept looking from me to Vicky to Nessie, who was currently sitting in her lap. Since I couldn't stand the glances they kept stealing at us anymore, I came out right and asked them what their fucking problem was.

"Guys," I called out sharply, capturing the attention of not only the three of them, but the whole table. "What's with all of the damn looks you three are giving us?" I asked incredulously, gesturing wildly at myself, then Victoria and Renesmee. Sara snorted loudly at them, assumingly at something in their thoughts.

"Bella," Jasper started fearfully, taking in my emotional climate. "You do know who she is, right?" he asked, nodding over at Vicky, not daring to look her in the face.

I narrowed my eyes at him and raised an eyebrow before answering him. Sometimes I really wonder if they know every family member of this large family, like Sara does. She even told me, Mark and Nessie all about the family members that she had been told about had she not met them herself. On occasions, Ben would tell us about them, too.

Sucking in a deep breath, I finally answered Jazz's question. "Of course I know who she is Jasper. She's Victoria Katy Cullen; daughter of John Cullen and Katy Roberts. Vicky is, and always has been, Sara, Edward, Ben, and Alice, Casey, and Carson's cousin." I let my eyes wander between the three of them, suspiciously-daring them to speak, before I continued. "Now, I know what you're thinking. She was holding a grudge against me, but that was almost six years ago. The vampire venom was messing with both her mind and body. It was pure instinct; a vampire who lost their mate would have done the same - a mate for a mate.

"I don't care about that anymore, that was in the past. Things have changed - Vicky's family. She had lost her way for a while, but she's found it again. Victoria is a good person. She wouldn't hurt anybody unless given a reason to do so." I cast my eyes away from them and looked at Victoria herself. She was smiling profusely at me as she blew a kiss across the table to me.

Seconds before the Liz came out with the salad, Jasper, Rose and Emmett said their apologies to Victoria. The last bit of the brunch was mostly in silence. That was until a shocked, startled gasp came from Sara's lips. She was staring with opaque eyes at nothing in particular as she ate. It could have rivaled Alice when she was in a vision. She looked as if it was nothing in the world, an everyday occurrence (and it was) but she looked as if she was looking at something in the distance. Alice looked more like she was staring right through you, as if you aren't really there.

Everyone's head snapped to look at Sara once the gasp registered with them. She was blinking rapidly and muttering in Italian so fast and low I didn't know what she was saying. "How stupid can he _fucking be_, thinking I wouldn't _see_ that?" she mumbled to herself. She looked up and locked eyes with Jazz across the table. He tensed, as if waiting for impact, or in this case, getting hit, or berated, by Sara. She chuckled and gave a crooked grin, similar to her twin's. "Why do you look uneasy, like you're waiting for me to hit you, Jazzy?"She asked playfully, giggling almost. "I was just going to ask you something."

He visibly relaxed at those words and got comfortable in his seat next to Alice again. "Ask away, Sara," he drawled in his slight Southern accent. His eyes were alight with the curiosity emitting from everyone. My eyes flew back to Sara, wondering what she was going to ask Jazz. She must have really seen something that was going to embarrass him causing her to pull out the smirk that brought mischief.

She smiled like the cat that got the canary, as she said, "Well I was just wondering Jazz, why you didn't tell anyone that you wanted to buy a new car." Jasper's calm expression froze and turned to one of horror at her words. When he didn't say anything, she continued. "Jasper, it's okay. You don't have to answer, just listen to what I have to say." There was suddenly a calm aura washing over all of us. It wasn't coming from Jasper himself, but his daughter. He looked over at Mary thankfully.

"In my vision, I saw you in a Mercedes Benz CLK63 - silver." She went on by going into full detail, including the make, model, license plate number, and year. She even went as far as telling him what she was going to do to add modifications once it arrived at their house back in Rochester. Ben would add any suggestions that he thought would be good for the Mercedes, too, seeing as he drives one. Rose looked at them in awe and wonder as they spoke about the car modifications they were going to do to Jasper's car…

* * *

**OKAY...SINCE YOU'VE READ THE CHAPTER...I NEED YOU TO HELP ME.**

**I NEED REVIEWS TO KNOW THAT YOU REALLY SUPPORT MY STORY...IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME...IT'S KIND OF DEPRESSING THAT THERE IS ONLY 2 REVIEWS. IF YOUR KIND ENOUGH TO REVIEW...WELL THEN THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MY WRITING!**

**OTHER THAN THAT...THANKS FOR READING!**

**Love always and forever,  
Gemini**

**Oh...and P.S. **

**If you have been reading my other story 'Mixed Signals'...I need REVIEWS there too!**

**Oh and I need music suggestions for a 'Welcome Back to School' song for high schoolers...**

**It can be almost everything except for the following: Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, any Disney artists, and anything remotely similar to those.**

**Suggestions are appreciated...Thank you!**


	7. Impossible

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! NADA, NONE, ZILCH**

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**Some Things Are Best Kept Secret**

**Bella POV – October 2, 2018, present day, 9:45 pm**

"Iz, let's split up; I'll go east and you'll go west." Mark was enthusiastic for this hunting trip Sara had foreseen because we would be hunting some pure blood Lycans for once. The last time we encountered pure bloods was back in Forks after the others left and I was pregnant with Ness.

"Mar, be careful when you go. The last time we fought these things, vampires were a distraction," I warned him. My brother full well knows the consequences of not being _careful_. He almost got himself killed this time two years ago by an Amazonian shape-shifter in Northern Brazil. The thing came from behind and jumped onto his back. We didn't know until he cried out bloody murder and was covered in his own blood…Some of us think that he is still traumatized from that experience.

He nodded, briefly remembering what happened two years ago, too, by the look on his face. Suddenly, he pulled me into a vice tight hug and kissed my cheek. Then he ran off toward the east, like a speeding bullet, becoming the wind in the process, laughing the entire time.

Shaking my head, I headed off toward the opposite direction. Slowly, I walked around the trees, looking for a scent to follow without having to go too far into the forest. Out of nowhere, a dark brown blur crossed my path. I momentarily tensed, waiting to see if it saw me. Apparently, it didn't.

I ran off then, in a somewhat hunting crouch screaming bloody murder. "Help! Help me, please! Please, I need help!" As I ran, I pretended to be limping. It wasn't one of my favorite things to do, but it got the job done faster. A dark blur caught my eye and I thought I heard a deep rumble of a chuckle coming from it…All of a sudden; I was hurtling down to the forest floor not of my own volition. I knew that I didn't trip over anything…

"Hi, Bells," the person, that was on top of me, whispered.

The person was big like my cousin. He sounded like my cousin, even _smelled_ like him. "Emmett, is that you?" I guessed.

"Yeah, it's me Bells. Now, shush please. Rosie's going to get that thing over there." Em pointed towards a giant maple tree with a creature, the Lycans, climbing up towards the blur of blond hair that ran past us. "I have a question for you, Bells. Do you know what what that gigantic thing is, because Alice and Jasper won't tell us?"

Lowering my voice, I said, "It's a lycan, pure blood more or less. And, no, it is not a _werewolf_. Lycans are bigger, fiercer, and faster. The only thing similar is the human host becoming the creature during the full moon. But pure bloods are a whole different story, Em. If a human gets bitten by one, they become just like it. They can't turn back into human form. There's no turning back." I chanced a glance at my cousin (shocked, what did you expect) and continued. "That's why they're so lethal and need to be killed first chance you get. The more that are infected, the more that need to be eliminated."

"Oh," Emmett responded, "I didn't know that. And here we've been, hunting these things for the past eight years."

"Wait, how many years have you hunted these things, Em? I need to know, it'll answer many unanswered questions," I pleaded desperately.

"Maybe about six year, the first two nothing ever crossed our paths, but these things keep popping up everywhere we go," Emmett was ranting by the end. "First in Denali, then Vancouver, and Nova Scotia; Portland, Maine; and now _here in Rochester," _he ranted, ticking each off on his fingers as he said each place.

I stayed quiet, contemplating how I should tell them, that was until the carcass of the lycan fell from the tree and Rose jumped down from the highest branches, holding a bloody silver dagger in her hand. "Guys, do you really know why the lycans are going after you?" I asked as Em and I walked up to Rose at a leisurely pace.

"Bella, what are you talking about?" Rosalie asked when she met us half way, cleaning the pure silver dagger of its blood.

"I'm talking about why you guys are being hunted by lycans. Alice and Jasper refused to tell you because you would lapse in control and blow your cover." I looked at them both, seeing confusion marring their features.

"What are you saying, Bells?" Emmett deadpanned.

I heaved a heavy sigh and spoke. "The things are going through a great battle with vampires. They're mistaking you four as vampires and are trying to eliminate you," I had my arms out in front of me, trying to get them to understand the knowledge Sara taught me. "You look like vampires, smell like vampires, you even _sound_ like vampires! With the body glimmer on it shields and protects you. Lycans hunt vampires for revenge. It's another reason why those things have to be killed first chance you get." My expression was beseeching, trying to get them to under the best way I can.

Emmett was looking at me like I had grown a second head, while Rosalie looked on with mingled horror and understanding. "What the hell are you saying, Bella? That those," he pointed at the lycan carcass, "things are hunting us because we act and look like vampires?" Em asked incredulously.

My cousin received a hard smack the the back of the head for asking me automatically from his wife. "That is exactly what she is saying Emmett. Have you ever listened to a thing Ali _or_ Jazz have said to us about how we could be mistaken and killed just because of appearance" Rose ranted angrily, "Em, you don't listen to anything they say do you?"

I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease my older cousin. I told him the one thing that would make him pay attention. "Emmett, what would Aunt Emma and Uncle Michael say if they knew you don't pay attention unlike your sister Bree?"

He stopped rubbing the spot Rose hit abruptly and froze in shock. Hesitantly, almost as if he was afraid of the answer, Emmett asked, "You found Emma Swan and Michael McCarty, Bells? Please tell me, I really want to know. I haven't seen them since the day I was attack by that bear."

"Not me, Em," I told him shaking my head. "Your sister and my dad found them. They were hiding in Northern Russia, Dad and Bree tracked and brought them home three years ago." I chuckled darkly, remembering the immediate reaction Mom had when she saw them stumble through the front door of the Manor. She had all but thrown herself at Aunt Emma, crying her eyes out. Renesmee had kept asking what was wrong with Grandma Renee and I would just shake my head, trying to hold in my laughter, and say I don't know.

"So they're alive?" I nodded my head. Emmett's dark brown eyes lit up and he suddenly moved fast, pulling me into one of his famous bear hugs.

"I can't…_breathe_…Emmett!"

"Oops, sorry Bells," he apologized, letting go at once, before actually _squeezing_ one more hug out of me.

"It's okay Em. I may have the power over the air, but it doesn't mean you can't squeeze it all out of me." I smiled widely at both Rosalie and Emmett. "Well, I liked this little reunion, and I _will_ see you guys again, but I have to go back to hunting." I hugged them both one last time and kissed both their cheeks. Then I ran off in search of a scent to follow. I stopped abruptly as I caught to the scent of…_No. No, no, no _– impossible, it can't be. The scent was both familiar and unknown at the same time. It smelled…_living_…sweet – exactly like Sara does, but, yet, it was different. The unknown part smelled…_deathly sweet_…and intoxicating. It was like honey and sunshine mixed together.

If my assumption is correct, I _might_ find someone we have been evading for the past twelve years…

I just brushed off the things my mind was telling me and followed. The scent led me to the base of a tree. I stood there in complete silence, waiting…waiting for the vampire to come to me. There was sudden movement above me, but I didn't dare look up, afraid my fears would be confirmed. The breathing was becoming so harsh and labored that I almost thought it was me. I am notorious for passing out, over breathing and hyperventilating, even though I am like living air.

As I heard something drop down from up above with a thud - with no heart beat and no longer breathing - I tensed, ready for the attack. The person was shifting their weight from foot to foot repeatedly, as if the person was unsure of what to do. It was odd…This person, this _vampire_, seemed to normally have the aura of being confident and cocky all of the time. It was like they knew what their opponent was _thinking_…Being sure of their every move as they made it…that's how it felt in this strange, off-balance aura.

_Like something's pushing against my shield…_

I made a snap decision as I thought it over one more time. I spun around, one hand outstretched to wrap around the throat, the other reaching for the pistol, loaded with the special made bullets that ignited a burning fire when striking the target, hidden in the waist band of my jeans, ready to point it to the temple viciously.

But I stopped when I saw the messy bronze hair, topaz eyes, and the look of disbelief and shock that didn't look appropriate on his beautiful face.

_Edward…_

All the painful – and good – memories that were pushed to the back of my mind, neglected over years, were suddenly playing before my eyes again. There was the time he saved me from Tyler Crowley's van when he didn't have to…The day he brought me to his meadow, _our_ meadow. Then there was the prom, where he held me in his arms, promising to let me never go, vowing to make sure that I never ended up like disastrous eighteenth birthday party that Alice had tried to throw for me when Jazz lunged at me because of the smallest paper cut in the _entire world _let him get too deep into the persona that he had built for himself came to mind. (I remember Sara telling me it was because he missed his daughter - _his Mary_ - so much that made him want to snap and lash out like a petulant child.) Another memory, from later that same night, was one of my favorites. It was the night when he gave himself to me and me to him. _The night he gave me the last thing that tied me to him by blood…_

The last memory that flashed before my eyes - the most painful of them all - brought a sharp stab of pain to my chest. _The day he left me..._ It was the last time I actually saw him with my own two eyes, was close enough to _touch_ him…

I all but cringed my hand away from Edward's throat and took a shaky step back.

"Bella," he breathed, raising his hand slowly to shape his palm to my face. But before our skin made contact, I ran like a bat out of hell. I felt that it was safe to stop after I had been running for a few minutes, knowing that…_he_ wouldn't be able to follow my scent seeing as I didn't leave one to do so in the first place. I didn't realize that I was standing back in front of Rose and Emmett again until I finally decided to look up.

"Bella…I know that you said you would see us again, but twice in the same day is a little early, don't you think so?" Em chuckled at me as he said that. I realized that he was totally oblivious to the horrorstruck expression on my face. Rosalie..._not so much._

"Bella, what's wrong sweetie? You look like you've just seen a boggart," she asked me so quietly that I almost couldn't hear her, even with my heightened, immortal ears. Rosalie came up to me and pulled me into a hug that was strong enough to crack one of my ribs, almost making it pierce my skin. Almost. "Sorry…" I just nod my head, full well knowing that I would be fine in a few seconds. "Tell me…please Bella," she whispered as Emmett looked on confusedly. _What a shocker…NOT!_

I looked up at her and whispered just as softly, "I saw _him_, Rose…" She looked confused at first and the longer she thought about it, the more I could see the comprehension dawning upon her glorious face. I reached up to grip her shoulders, rib fully healed now, in my state of shock. "Rosalie," she looked at me with her wide violet-blue eyes, "I want you and Emmett to find my brother – he's out here somewhere. Then go get Alice and Jasper and go to the Manor. Tell them there's going to be a meeting. Please, Rose, do this for me…for Renesmee and Edward himself. _Please._"

She nodded her head, long honey blond hair shielding her face from the world, and hugged me tightly one last time before dragging Em off. I was able to take a breath freely again without it getting stuck in my throat when I tried to, a sigh of relief really, knowing that they would do this. Now all I need to do is go back to the Manor undetected by anything out here without using _too_ much magic.

_I have the perfect idea…_

* * *

The faint _popping_ sound from my Apparition signaled to me that I was at my destination. I opened my eyes to reveal what was Nessie's room, gold walls and all. "Mom, what's wrong? You look like hell," she observed aloud as she pulled her ear buds away from her head. I could hear the continuous drum beats to the song 'The Sharpest Lives' by My Chemical Romance blaring away from where I stand at the end of her queen bed.

Not really knowing how to respond that, I just shook my head at her. But seriously, I mean, what do you tell your twelve year old daughter when you almost killed her father less than twenty minutes ago? Not the truth hopefully. "It's nothing Ness," I decide to tell her and cut straight to the chase. "Can you do me a favor?" she nodded her head, "I want you to tell me when you see your uncle Mark coming up the driveway."

She smiled. "Of course Mom. I don't really have anything to do anyway. Aunt Sara and Uncle Adain finished my studies for the day and didn't give me anything to read or finish." A phantom smile started to creep onto my face as she spoke of her magical studies. I could hear how relieved she was not to have any homework for once. Now don't get me wrong, Nessie loves to learn – just not about magic. She likes to learn about that as she grows older and is experiencing it currently; she just doesn't understand that is exactly what Sara and Adain are doing.

"Thanks." She smiled at me and put her ear buds back on. I leaned down to kiss her rosy cheek and pulled back quickly enough before getting swatted by her hand.

"Mom!" I laughed loudly before flitting to the door and swiftly closing it behind me before than she could throw something at me.

I walked down the hall all the way to the stairs and down to the second floor. Turning the first corner I came to, I started a sprint to the polished oak door that was Sara's private study. Hopefully she already saw what I was planning to tell her so I didn't have to say it out loud and everyone would hear. I slowed the closer I got, images of yelling that would - hopefully not - occur during the meeting flashing through my mind sending a shiver down my spine. Forcing myself to take a deep breath before preparing to knock on the door, a voice from within stopped me.

"Come in, Bella," I heard. _She knows already. _Sara's voice sounded angry, like something already pissed her off earlier in the day. It was most likely seeing as many things could have elicited a reaction like this. The last time she was this angry was that fateful day when Edward left me in the forest and it took hours for them to just find me…

I opened the door hesitantly, in fear of her snapping at me. It's not the best thing in the world being shouted at by her…_Let's leave it at that._ When I finally caught sight of her, I got a shocking surprise. Right now is one of the only times I have _ever_ witnessed Sara Cullen drinking something other than hard liquor. In her hand was a wine glass, filled with the darkest red wine that I have ever seen, to which she is currently sipping on slowly.

"Umm…Why are you drinking red wine, Sara?" I didn't mean to be so blunt.

"What's it to you?" she hissed scathingly as she looked up from the goblet. "If you were having premonitions that aren't coming at regular intervals _and_ are giving intense headaches, you would be too." Sara suddenly took a deep, calming breath when she finished openly yelling at me. "Look, Bella, I'm sorry about that. There's something going on and drinking is the only way to help. And, besides, I'm not the only one drinking. Chris, Sammie, Mary – they're drinking champagne. Then Mom…she's drink straight vodka." The more she spoke about the kids and her mother drinking…the more I became confused. Because…I mean seriously, no one in this family really drinks that much unless it's a special occasion – like Christmas or something. She must have seen the confusion all over my face and explained. "It's to calm both the mind and body, Izzy."

"Oh…I didn't know that." She just shrugged her shoulders.

"Anyway, I know what you want to ask me. Just go ahead and tell everyone to go straight to the library so that this assembly can start," she told me, tracing the rim of the wine glass with her index finger.

"Who should I -" she cut me off, answering my question

"Everyone but the kids. I know what's going on, so don't worry about it." Sara was smiling now as she sipped at the last of the fine, red Italian drink. I bit my lip thinking about how well this could go. _Renesmee could meet her father…_ I finally smiled back at her. "Now go; I'll be there soon."

I nodded and slipped out of her study. Walking down the hall, all of the possibilities of what I would do if we had to confront Edward went through my head. _Would I get angry at him? Would I forgive him? _So many unanswered questions swam through my mind. I was so wrapped up in my head that I didn't even notice when I walked right in to Ben.

Just as I bumped off of his chest and started to go sailing down to the floor, he reached out to grab my arms. "Bella, are you okay?" he asked as he made sure that I wouldn't fall again.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I looked into his bluish green eyes and saw something odd, but brushed it off. "I just need to tell you and everyone else that there's going to be a meeting in the library later." Ben seemed to have seen the panic and confusion still mingling in my eyes, causing him to guess what the meeting was about.

"It's about my dumbass of a brother, _Eddie, _isn't it Bell?" he hissed angrily, asking for conformation. All I could do was nod my head, unable to speak. Ben suddenly pulled me into a fierce hug and whispered into my ear sympathetically. "I'm sorry that he makes you sad when he's not around. I'm sorry he was unable to watch you pregnant with your daughter. _So sorry,_ Bella… He missed out on so many things." We just stood there, with him embracing me like a big brother would his little sister, and me weeping quietly into his shirt. "Come on Bella, let's go tell the others about this _meeting,_" Ben said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders lightly as we went down the hall together. He had sneered the word meeting as if he never wanted to say it the first place…_How strange…_

I wiped away my tears from my face as we started our decent down the stairs, side by side. We turned the corner down into the living room to see Lilly and Constantine watching the flat screen TV together on the leather couch. Stan had his shoulder length hair pulled back away from his face, which suited his young face. Lilly was leaning into her husband's side, sipping at a clear liquid in a half empty glass. From here I could smell the strong alcohol. _Vodka's in the glass…_

Lilly's dark reddish brown hair was just a few shades darker than her short sleeved shirt. They were both dressed very casually for a night at home. Both were wearing t-shirts and jeans. Stan and Lilly never quite seemed to stop shocking me when they dress like they are right now. Those two always seemed to look like royalty, even if they wore jeans. When I first met them after their children brought them back (Lilly from the grave and Stan from Volterra after living almost five centuries as the Volturi master, Aro), I thought long flowing robes and cloaks would be normal everyday attire for both. They came from an era where robes fell to the floor with the cloth made of Egyptian silk, smooth satins, and soft cotton in various colors.

"Hello dears," Lilly greeted us warmly after catching sight of us standing behind the couch. When Lilly spoke, Stan turned his head to look at Ben and me. There was curiosity swimming in his icy blue eyes as he gazed at us both along with happiness. "Dear," Lilly said concerned looking at me, "what's wrong, your eyes are a bit bloodshot?"

Stan turned his attention away from the TV to me then, curiosity burning behind the new found concern for his newest daughter in his eyes. Ben looked away awkwardly, wishing his mother didn't see. I decided to down play it like it was nothing and feign innocence. "It's nothing, Lilly. Nothing to worry about right now." I gave her a slight smile before looking away briefly.

"Okay, Bella," she replied brightly, a feint trace of disbelief present in her voice. Lillian's eyes flashed to a shade of earthy brown, like Ginny's, from the brilliant green, like Harry's, dangerously…She only did that when she planned to do something again. In this case, ask why I'm crying. When she asks again – at the meeting, no doubt – I'm going to tell her the truth. I'll tell her I was crying because her eldest son wasn't here to watch his daughter grow up these past twelve damn years. I'll tell her everything I miss about Edward…Even if I end up breaking down again in front of the whole family.

I just don't care anymore. I miss Edward Cullen with everything I've got…

"Yeah…well, we just came in here to tell you guys that there is going to be a really, _really_, important meeting in the library later tonight." Ben finally spoke after the loaded silence.

"Wonderful, wonderful," Constantine spoke for the first time, clasping his hands together. "We shall go now and tell anyone else we see." He and Lilly rose gracefully from the sofa together as one. Just before reaching the stair landing, Lillian turned back to us with a soft questioning look.

"No…" Ben told her quietly. She just nodded in return and slowly ascended the grand staircase with her husband.

Once I heard the doors the library close, with Stan, Lilly, Sara, Adain, my parents, Aunt Emma and Uncle Michael, and Abby inside waiting, I smacked Ben across the stomach. "Hey!" he whined. "What was that for, Izzy?"

"That was for not telling me that my eyes were bloodshot and letting your mother see!" I hissed furiously at him as I tuned the TV off.

"Look, Iz, I'm sorry. I'll get everyone else while you wait for the others in the foyer with Renesmee." Ben's eyes were big and glassy as he pleaded with me to forgive him. I stared at him a moment longer, wondering how Alice, Mary, and Ben were able to pull out the puppy dog eyes unintentionally when they wanted something. I stared back into his dark blue eyes, contemplating what my answer would be. Then I watched, disbelieving, as Ben started to unconsciously start pouting. But really, I don't know how these Cullens get what they want so easily.

Shaking my head of those thoughts, I kept my eyes on Ben's pouty face the whole time. I then heaved a deep breath and relented. "Fine, go go find the others. I just want this meeting done and over with."

"Thanks, Isa." Then he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before running off to find anyone else meant for the meeting. I then heard light footsteps coming down the stair case. Looking up, I saw Nessie flitting over to my side with a big, toothy smile. It was the same one she had when she first met Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie.

"Mom, they're here. I saw them coming up in Uncle Mark's Audi."

"Thanks, _innamorata_." I hugged her and she kissed my cheek in return. And just as fast she came down here, she was gone. The sudden sound of keys jingling in a lock at the front door alerted me that they were closer than I thought.

"I'm back!" I heard my brother call out softly into the Manor. My welcoming greeting was just as soft.

Out of nowhere, a blur of inky black and white came whistling into the room, straight for me. "Bella!" Alice screeched into my ear once she had successfully knocked me flat on my back…

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**AN: Okay…it's been a long, long, loooooooooong time since I last updated. I'm sorry. BUT, I am going to be faster since summer vacation is fast approaching. The next…2…chapters are already written just have to be typed. So don't be so upset with me…**

**Mixed Signals**__**will be updated a bit faster than the last chapter…so no worries ;)**

**Anyway…If you have any music suggestions go right ahead and give them to me and I'll think about it**

**Arrivederci,  
TwinGemini**


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